The City of Greater Sudbury has capped a nationwide recruitment effort led by Odgers Canada to land on Rob Grimwood as their new chief of Fire Services.
In a media release issued on Thursday to announce his hiring, the city noted that he has more than 29 years of experience in fire services.
“Chief Grimwood brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to this role,” City of Greater Sudbury CAO Shari Lichterman said in the city’s media release. “He is a leader in the areas of health, safety and training, and he has a deep understanding of the opportunities and challenges of a composite fire service that benefits from both career and volunteer service delivery.”
Grimwood’s 29-plus years of service includes 17 years in senior leadership roles, most recently as deputy chief with the City of Mississauga Fire and Emergency Services. In this most recent role, he has overseen professional development and accreditation and communications while also serving as management co-chair for their joint health and safety committee.
Prior to that, he served other fire services management roles in Vaughan, Dryden, Niagara-on-the-lake and Haldimand County.
Grimwood’s frontline experience includes time as a firefighter with the City of Toronto and as a volunteer firefighter with the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake.
Additionally, Grimwood worked as a paramedic for 20 years, including nine years as the paramedic chief in Haldimand County.
“I look forward to working with the City of Greater Sudbury team and am proud to take this leadership role with Greater Sudbury Fire Services,” Grimwood said in the city’s media release. “My family and I are excited to relocate to this community.”
Current Fire and Paramedic Services Chief Joseph Nicholls is retiring at the end of the week. Sudbury.com will be connecting with him early next week for a story on his career.
In replacing Nicholls, the city is creating two new permanent chief positions for Paramedic Services and Fire Services.
“In the past, there have been different models,” Mayor Paul Lefebvre told Sudbury.com earlier this year in announcing the city management restructuring, adding that with much going on in these areas, including emergency services infrastructure renewals and growing demands for both services, more management was required.
Earlier this year, the city appointed Aaron Archibald as chief of Paramedic Services. Archibald has been a city employee for 25 years, the majority of which in various roles within Paramedic Services.
Grimwood begins his new role on Oct. 27.