The City of Greater Sudbury has named Nathan Melin as their new deputy fire chief, effective April 3.
Melin has been with Greater Sudbury Fire Services since 2019, and currently serves as assistant deputy chief.
Alongside fellow firefighter Craig Lawrence, he has also been serving as interim deputy chief for the past several days to accommodate Deputy Chief Jesse Oshell, who is on leave.
“The services delivered by the entire fire services team are so important to the people throughout our community,” Melin said in a media release.
“Having a second deputy chief in place will allow us to better focus on some important initiatives, especially when it comes to our volunteer firefighters. I look forward to working with the team in this new capacity to help move the division forward.”
The city began looking to hire a second deputy fire chief earlier this year after keeping the position vacant since November 2021.
“It was time” the service finally fill the vacancy, Chief Joseph Nicholls said at the time, “so that we can have a deputy focusing on some important initiatives, such as our volunteers, volunteer training and things like that.”
Under the one-deputy chief model, Nicholls said too much pressure had been placed on Oshell.
“He's working day and night, so we need somebody else who can support him and they can support each other and focus on significant strategic issues that are facing the fire service.”
In his current role as assistant deputy chief, Melin is credited in a city media release as providing “strong leadership in areas like fire prevention, public education, volunteers, and critical fire and life safety issues related to multi-unit dwellings and shelters.”
In his new role, Melin will be responsible for volunteer firefighting services, including recruitment, retention and training. He will also continue leading strategic initiatives related to fire prevention and fire education.
“Congratulations to Assistant Deputy Chief Melin on this well-deserved promotion to Deputy Chief,” Nicholls said in a media release. “He has proven himself to be a strong, fair and trusted leader within the service, and embodies the experience and qualities we were looking for in our second Deputy. I look forward to continuing to work with him on the Fire Services team.”
Melin is a graduate of the Fire Protection Engineering Technology and Fire Safety programs at Seneca College and completed the Fire Prevention Officer Diploma program with the Ontario Fire College. He is currently completing the Fire Service Executive Management program at Humber College. Before coming to Greater Sudbury, he spent 11 years with the St. Catharines Fire Service, finishing his time there as chief fire prevention officer.
