Greg Adair has been named the new Chief of Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services. (Photo: City of Lethbridge)

By Justin Goulet

New Fire Chief announced for Lethbridge

Jan 6, 2022 | 11:37 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services has found its new Chief.

Deputy Chief Greg Adair has been named the replacement for Marc Rathwell, who is set to retire next month. Adair has been with the Lethbridge service since June 2017, moving to the city following a 20-year career as a paramedic/firefighter in Red Deer. His time there included eight years as Deputy Chief.

Additionally, Adair has advanced care paramedic experience, 10 years of wildland firefighting experience with Alberta Sustainable Resource Development (SRD). He was also the City of Lethbridge’s Interim Director of Community Services from June 2020 to March 2021.

Adair said, “I am very honoured and excited to be taking on the role of chief for the city of Lethbridge.”

“I accept this responsibility into this new job and am looking forward to leading this department into the future.”

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Adair noted that as the chief, he will work to secure a long-term ambulance contract with Alberta Health Services, as well as address concerns regarding the consolidation of EMS dispatch services.

He said, “I will continue to advocate for the EMS dispatch services to provided out of our PSCC Centre here in Lethbridge. We strongly believe that we do a phenomenal job of dispatching from Lethbridge and we will advocate to get that business back here in Lethbridge.”

Adair noted that first responders deal with difficult tasks daily, and the mental and physical well-being of employees will be one of his priorities.

“I will be focusing to ensure that we can provide the mental health and physical health supports to ensure that our staff will be able to respond to whatever emergency they face.”

He said the service continues to get busier, noting that “every year, we increase by about five to 10 per cent.”

“Our call volumes never seem to slow down and with things like our opioid crisis, of course our COVID response adding more complexities to our service, we just need to make sure we navigate through those effectively going forward.”

Adair also wants to make sure the department has the correct resources to do their job efficiently. He explained that includes ensuring “we have the proper equipment; we have the proper training and we have proper fire station placements throughout the city to ensure a timely response to the emergency situations.”

“I look forward to working with council and our department on relocating Fire Station No. 3 in the coming years. Also, I’m looking forward to building a long-term strategic vision and direction for our department that we will be unveiling over the coming months.”

Lethbridge mayor Blaine Hyggen said, “on behalf of Lethbridge City Council, I want to congratulate Greg on his appointment. We have great confidence in him to lead Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services.”

Mike Fox, Director of Community Services for the City of Lethbridge added that, “Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services provide a high level of service to the community and the position of Fire Chief is a crucial role that requires strong leadership skills.”

“Greg has the proven experience to lead this department and we are excited for him to step into this position.”

Adair will start in his new role on January 12. This will allow for a transition period with retiring chief Marc Rathwell, whose last day is February 11.

“I really look forward to leading the men and women of Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services as we transition through our COVID into whatever challenges face us next.”