The County of Brant announced that Darren Watson has been named the new Fire Chief for the municipality on Wednesday, March 1, 2023.
“We are thrilled to appoint Mr. Watson as the Fire Chief to oversee the eight (8) stations and approximately 200 volunteer firefighters serving the County of Brant,” said Darryl Lee, Interim Chief Administrative Officer for the County of Brant. “We are grateful for Chief Watson’s leadership and continued commitment to ensuring that the County has a highly skilled, professional and trained Fire Service team, in place and ready to respond.”
Having previously served Blandford-Blenheim for nearly a decade as volunteer firefighter and performing the duties of a Trainer Facilitator and Fire Prevention Officer, Chief Watson joined the County in 2010, beginning his service as a volunteer firefighter, which was followed by promotion to Captain. In 2019, Watson was further promoted to Brant’s Deputy Fire Chief role and acted as the Alternate Community Emergency Management Coordinator.
Over the course of Chief Watson’s tenure as Deputy Chief, the County adopted the Fire Master Plan, guiding the Fire Service for 2020 to 2030, saw the construction of three (3) new Fire Stations in Cainsville, Onondaga, and Scotland, and, successfully acquired a new Training Tower.
In 2022, Chief Watson was promoted to Acting Fire Chief and was integral in the recruitment and training of 31 new recruits to NFPA 1001 Firefighter standards.
“Living in the County of Brant, I am pleased to continue to serve my hometown and community,” said Watson. “My commitment to the community is to ensure the firefighters are well-trained and ready to respond to a variety of fire, medical and rescue emergencies, while ensuring their health and safety is effectively addressed. I look forward to continuing to support our dedicated team of staff, including fire prevention, training, dispatch and firefighters across eight (8) stations to share a common vision of excellence while serving their community.”
