Shawn Jamieson Has Worked Hard For This Moment

“I’ve been working for the past, probably, five years, taking courses, trying to get myself in a position so that when the day came and the job came up that I had the qualifications to be able to apply for it.”

Article by Sue Dickens/ Image submitted

Trent Hills –The new Acting Fire Chief Shawn Jamieson is stepping into the shoes left by retired Fire Chief Tim Blake.

When asked about his new role in the department, he told Trent Hills Now, “I’ve been working for the past, probably, five years, taking courses, trying to get myself in a position so that when the day came and the job came up that I had the qualifications to be able to apply for it.”

Two years ago he was hired as the full-time Deputy Fire Chief with the Trent Hills Fire Department. He has been a volunteer firefighter since 2010.

“I was a production supervisor at a company called Cascades before I was hired as the full-time Deputy Chief,” he said.

why did you decide to become a volunteer firefighter?

When asked why he decided to become a firefighter he said, “Well, I have other family members that were in it before me. cousins and uncles and you know, it just seemed like something to do…to give back to community”

It was no secret that Tim Blake would be resigning, it was just a matter of when, and now that he has he leaves behind big shoes to fill and an untarnished reputation as the leader of the department.

Jamieson admits, “They’re pretty big shoes to fill. He’s been a pillar in the community. ..It’s just one of those things that you try and keep up with the same things that he’s been doing, keep us at the same standards.”

He added, “When Tim took over as chief in 2012, he had three departments, well three stations working as one department. (amalgamation of the three fire stations happened during his tenure) So we now do our training like one department. ..When we do our practices, we have people from stations one, two, and three, all working together at the same time.”

Trent Hills was created in 2001 through the amalgamation of the Town of Campbellford, Village of Hastings, and Townships of Percy and Seymour. Trent Hills Fire Rescue is an amalgamation of Campbellford-Seymour Fire Department, Hastings Fire Department and Warkworth Fire Department.

Jamieson is taking the reins with all that history and at a time when the fire department is undergoing its 10-year service review. The last time it was done was in 2012.

Blake described the document, now under review, “as a roadmap for the next 10 years.”

Jamieson explained that in his new role he will be “overseeing everything” about the department With 84 volunteer firefighters in the three stations, the age of the men and women, ranges from early 20s up to nearing retirement.

There is no problem recruiting. “We’ve got a lot of people in their 20s and 30s and older,” he said. It’s a department where young people are mentored and welcomed, in some case following in their father’s footsteps.

Taking on the role of Acting Fire Chief means Jamieson now has an office in the new EMS base, quite the change from working in the old fire hall now decommissioned, with no plans for it yet announced.

Talking to Jamieson we asked if he had a particular fire that stands out in his career and Jamieson said, “You know, one of the biggest ones that I was on was when the Nicholson’s shop burned down there on County Road. 30.”

The fire happened in the middle of winter, at midnight on Feb. 27, 2019.

The Nicholson brothers, Ken and Russ, own Nicholson Brothers Concrete, Excavating & Landscape Supplies, located 78 Tanner Industrial Park on the west side of Cambpellford.

The building which housed equipment, rental area, and the office, was destroyed. Thankfully there were no injuries.

For those of you who don’t know Jamieson, he is one of the guys who is in the fire truck with his son Jared, now nine, when the fire department participates in the Santa Claus parade. He has been a part of it for many years and this year will be no different as the parade returns after a shutdown by COVID.

He noted, “As things have kind of opened up a bit more, (post pandemic) we’ve actually had some hall tours come through and there’s a lot of people who have really been curious about the new fire hall, but because of the pandemic, nobody ever really got to see it. So we’ve had some tours through and people have been able to get in and see the trucks and the building.”

When Jamieson is not working he has other interests. “I like to do a lot of snowmobiling in the winter and then, we do a lot of sports, we do hockey and baseball and dirt biking and keep busy with that when we’re not at the fire hall.”

And this article wouldn’t be complete with a safety message from Jamieson on behalf of the fire department.

“We can’t stress enough to make sure you have working smoke alarms in your house. You’d be amazed at how many times we go on a simple medical call or whatever, and the people have no working smoke alarms or they have one and the battery is dead.”

Retired Chief Tim Blake Comments.

We asked Blake for a comment on his retirement and this is what he said.

“I’ve enjoyed the 21 years I’ve been (with the department) It’s just time to spend more time with my family, with Kim and the kids.”

He added, “But I’ll always be around. I’ve been helping out over the last few weeks and will continue to help out.”

He noted, “I’m taking a month or so to see what’s next.”Blake said in a subsequent interview that he hopes to remain involved with the fire department in some capacity after his retirement. What that might be will be determined in discussions with Chief Administrative Officer Lynn Phillips and “what the municipality wants to see going forward.”

“I hope to stay and do something to help (with) the future (of the department),” he said. “We’ve got a really good thing built up here.”