Yellowknife appoints new fire chief, director of public safety

Craig MacLean has taken over as the City of Yellowknife’s director of public safety and Nelson Johnson is the new fire chief, the municipality said on Thursday.

In a news release, the city said the pair began their roles on Tuesday this week. The city had spent at least half a year searching for a replacement fire chief after John Fredericks left the role.

New appointment Johnson, the city said, was previously the fire chief in Minden, a township of 6,000 people northeast of Toronto. He has also served in Iqaluit’s fire department and as an instructor.

MacLean replaces former public safety director Jennifer Hunt-Poitras, who had held the post since May last year. The city said Hunt-Poitras was relocating to Nunavut.

MacLean joined Yellowknife’s fire division as a paid on-call firefighter in 2002, the city said, and has been the deputy fire chief of operations for the pat 12 years.