Updated Mission, Vision and Values celebrated by SDFES

MORRISBURG – March 27th was a big day for the local fire service.

Not only did firefighters fill South Dundas council chambers to witness Lieutenant Bill Chafe presenting the newly developed fire services Mission, Vision and Values to South Dundas council, it was also the day that South Dundas council officially named Jeremy Alldred-Hughes Director of Fire Services and SDFES Fire Chief. Alldred-Hughes has been acting in that role since he was hired in late June 2023 under a one-year contract.

“The last nine months have seen significant progress and success,” said South Dundas Chief Administrative Officer Tim Mills in recommending Alldred-Hughes for the appointment.

When Alldred-Hughes was first hired he said: “I firmly believe that a strong fire department is built on a foundation of teamwork, mutual respect and continuous improvement.” Chafe’s presentation to council reflected that statement.

“It’s been a period of considerable change for the fire service, both locally here in South Dundas and Provincially,” said Chafe, adding that it’s a good time for the local fire service to revisit and update its values and mission statement as a whole.

He explained that membership across the three stations was consulted for input and feedback about “what we hold important and why we do what we do.”

“The result of that is the signage you see here in front of you,” said Chafe. “One of the things that I think is most important is that we ourselves, your firefighters, are members of the community that we serve.”

“We are on the heels of a huge success with our organization,” said Chafe, explaining that they recently successfully completed level one and two certification will all of the new recruits.

“Riding the wave of that success, we are proud to have some language and some words that we can rally around as we navigate this period of change,” said Chafe before presenting Mission, Vision and Value plaques to each of the fire station representatives for display containing the following:

• Mission: Our SDFES mission is to preserve the lives and property of our community and its visitors, to prevent emergencies through community education, and to maintain the highest standards of training and expertise in the provision of fire and emergency services.
• Vision: We ourselves are members of the community we serve. By pursuing operational excellence through the continuous effort to learn, train, and develop as individuals and as a team, we will provide the highest standard of customer service to our community.
• Values:
  • Pride – Teamwork – Dedication
  • Pride – in our community, in ourselves, in one another, and in the work we do.
  • Teamwork – we recognize that our success, our safety, and the safety of our community depend upon us to work together as one team.
  • Dedication – to serve our community by training to the highest standards, and to always be learning and improving as first responders.

South Dundas Mayor Jason Broad said: “I commend everybody as to where you’ve got in your training. Thank you for your dedication and hard work. Thank everyone for that dedication and time.”

As a former member of the local fire service, South Dundas deputy mayor Marc St. Pierre said: “No disrespect to other organizations, who all do great things, the fire service is the most dedicated organization that we have. You guys and girls provide a service that’s second to none. Councillor Cole Veinotte who is also a former member of the local fire service was absent from the March 27 council meeting.