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There will be a new fire chief in Penticton, starting Monday.
Larry Watkinson is coming to the city from the District of Mission, where he's currently fire chief.
Watkinson, who is originally from the Okanagan, is taking over from Chief Wayne Williams, who is set to retire.
The new chief started his working life in the private sector and became a volunteer firefighter for Big White looking to give back to his community.
He worked his way up to deputy chief at Big White and then moved on to the Justice Institute where he was a program coordinator teaching and coordinating courses related to fire and rescue services
He then took on the role of deputy fire chief with the District of Mission and became chief shortly thereafter
Dennis Smith, formerly a captain with the department, will be the new assistant fire chief, while Dave Spalding continues as deputy fire chief.
"We are certainly looking forward to having a team of three members, so we can take the department forward and meet the city's expectations as a fire service," said Spalding.
Mayor Andrew Jakubeit said the fire chief, who has strong leadership skills, will be introduced to council and the public at the Feb. 1 council meeting.
