BONNYVILLE – Unexpected was the word used to describe the resignation of Fire Chief Jay Melvin from the Bonnyville Regional Fire Authority (BRFA).
On Thursday, news broke of the fire chief's resignation from the BRFA effective Nov. 19.
By the time Melvin wraps up his last day with the fire authority, he will have served nearly three years as Bonnyville’s regional fire chief, taking over from former Regional Fire Chief Brian McEvoy back in December of 2018.
The Town of Bonnyville’s mayor, Elisa Brosseau, told Lakeland Today, she, along with other members of the BRFA board of directors, was notified of Melvin’s resignation on Wednesday.
“It was definitely not something that was anticipated and (it) absolutely caught us off guard,” Brosseau said, adding “It's been an absolute pleasure working with him. I've only had the opportunity to work with him the last few years. I was looking forward to the next term working with him, but the (BRFA) board is fully supportive of his decision and we wish him nothing but great things going forward.”
Following the announcement of Melvin’s resignation, Regional Deputy Chief Dan Heney has been appointed by the BRFA board to stand in as the acting regional fire chief for the BRFA.
“Because it's so new and because it was not anticipated there's a lot of questions that our board has to discuss and make decisions on going forward. But for now, we do have Dan Heney who is taking over as acting chief and we know (the BRFA) is going to be in good hands in the interim,” expressed Brosseau.
In 2018, when McEvoy spoke of Melvin’s appointment to the position of regional fire chief, he told the Bonnyville Nouvelle, “When we interviewed, we determined Jay was the perfect person for (the position), and he’s spent the last six years... learning the community and organization, and developing the skills and knowledge to take this organization to where it needs to go over the next five to 10 years.”
At that time, Melvin expressed that he was looking forward to the challenge.
“It’s going to be a busy year, but I think it’s going to be full of a lot of great rewards for our staff to see what we can accomplish,” Melvin said in 2018. “My biggest ‘thank you’ to (Brian) is he is turning (the Authority) over better than how he received it, and that’s all you can ask for from a manager.”
Prior to taking over the role of regional fire chief, Melvin served as the regional deputy fire chief for more than six years. Filling the BRFA position in Oct. 1, 2012.
According to a statement from the BRFA, “Jay will be staying with the Authority until his departure in an administrative role to aid in the transition.”
Elaborating, Brosseau explained, “he will take more of an advisory role to the Acting Chief, but the Acting Chief (Heney) is now taking over all chief's duties as far as signing things, purchasing power, and things like that. But Jay will be there until his last day which is Nov. 19, more in an administrative, advisory role to the Acting Chief.”
When the new BRFA board of directors meets on Nov. 29, they will have to decide how they will move forward with the replacing and hiring for the position, said Brosseau.
Sitting on the board of directors for the BRFA are Town of Bonnyville Mayor Elisa Brosseau, councillors Brian McEvoy and Phil Kushnir, along with MD of Bonnyville Reeve Barry Kalinski and MD councillors Josh Crick and Mike Krywiak.
