Former City of Whitehorse fire chief Mike Dine said he was shocked and disappointed to learn he was fired on the afternoon of June 14 and that there had been no indication that it was coming.
“It was a total shock,” Dine said in a June 18 interview where he also described deep disappointment in the turn of events.
Dine had taken the job a little less than a year earlier and was one week away from finishing his probation period when he was relieved of his duties. An hour later he was out the door, without a job, he said.
Still dealing with the city’s human resources department, he said there’s not a lot he can say about the situation itself.
Dine and his wife had moved to the territory from Pender Island, B.C., where he was serving as deputy fire chief and had begun his firefighting career two decades earlier as a volunteer firefighter.
“It’s been an interesting year,” he said of his time with the Whitehorse department, adding he and his wife have been overwhelmed by the local support and he has enjoyed working with Whitehorse firefighting crew.
Questioned whether he and his wife will stay in the Yukon or head back down south, Dine said they have the same problem many who call the Yukon home have.
“We’ve fallen in love with it now,” he said, adding at this point he’s trying to figure out what he can do to support his family.
City officials are also providing very few details.
City spokesperson Myles Dolphin said in a June 17 statement: “Chief Dine was released on probation by the City Manager on Friday afternoon. Deputy Chief Chris Green is the acting Fire Chief until a replacement can be found. As this is an HR matter, I cannot share any further details.”
Dine replaced former fire chief Kevin Lyslo, who resigned in 2017.
Green had also filled in as acting fire chief following Lyslo’s resignation.
Contact Stephanie Waddell at stephanie.waddell@yukon-news.com