City of Williams Lake Hires New Director of Protective Services/Fire Chief

Courtesy of the City of Williams Lake:

The City of Williams Lake is thrilled to announce it has hired a new Fire Chief/Director of Protective Services.

Evan Dean, a dedicated employee of the City of Williams Lake for the past 11 years, has been promoted to the position after previously filling the positions of Senior Bylaw Officer and Manager of RCMP Municipal Services. More recently, Evan was the City’s Fire Inspection/Training Officer and has served as a City of Williams Lake firefighter for nine years.

“We are extremely fortunate to have Evan promoted to this position, and look forward to him starting his role as the City’s Director of Protective Services/Fire Chief,” Williams Lake Mayor Surinderpal Rathor said. “It is wonderful to be able to promote from within the organization, and I know I speak for the rest of Council when I say we are looking forward to working with Evan in this capacity.”

Chief Administrative Officer Gary Muraca said Evan is an extremely qualified and capable individual who is passionate about his career and is a well-respected member of the City’s team. “Evan was identified for this role in our succession planning and we know he will do a phenomenal job moving forward in his new position with the City,” Muraca said. “I would also personally like to thank Assistant Chief Trevor Schick and former Fire Chief Randy Isfeld for their input and assistance during the recruitment process, which was extremely valuable.”

Evan said he is honoured and humbled to be selected to serve the community. He moved to the community in 2011 and his family immediately fell in love with Williams Lake and the Cariboo.

“As a member of the Williams Lake Fire Department we have made so many connections to our region and I truly look forward to the opportunity,” Dean said. “With the recent departure of our Fire Chief and Deputy Chief we have seen a great deal of change recently in the Williams Lake Fire Department, and I see this as a tremendous opportunity for our department to continue to evolve and innovate, while also creating long-term stability for our community in the years to come.”

The City thanks Acting Fire Chief Randy Isfeld for stepping in to lead the fire department on an interim basis while the City undertook the recruitment process. 

“Since I’ve been back as the Acting Fire Chief, I have had the opportunity to work with Evan for the past couple of months and I feel very strongly that he will do an excellent job as the next Fire Chief,” said Isfeld. The selection committee including myself, Assistant Chief Trevor Schick, and City senior management all have full confidence in our decision.”