New Deputy Fire Chief focused on community safety

By Zachary Roman

Caledon is the first fire department in Ontario to have a Deputy Fire Chief of Community Safety.

That Deputy Chief is Samantha Hoffmann, who has moved to Caledon from Barrie and brings with her a wealth of experience and a genuine passion for educating the public on fire safety.

Hoffmann said one of her favourite things to do in her role is create partnerships in the community.

“I think that fire safety shouldn't just be coming from the fire department. I really think that we need to have ambassadors everywhere… everybody needs to take responsibility for their own fire safety, but they don't really want to hear people in uniform telling them what to do all the time. And the best way to do that is through partnerships,” said Hoffmann.

She's partnered with realtors who agree to tell their clients all about the smoke alarms in houses they're showing them; partnered with pizza places to deliver safety tips alongside the pies; and teachers who bring fire safety into the classroom.

These are examples of the types of partnerships Hoffmann is determined to make in Caledon, and over the short-term she said her goal is to familiarize herself with all of Caledon's villages and hamlets and begin to create those connections.

Her long-term goal with the Caledon Fire and Emergency Services team is to have Caledon be a fire safe community.

“I would love to be able to report that we've had less fires; that when we did have fires people knew what to do — they had working smoke alarms and knew how to get out of the house because they had a plan,” said Hoffmann.

In Ontario, fire departments recognize the three lines of defense, said Hoffmann. The first line is public education, giving people the tools they need to prevent fires or survive them if they happen. The second line is prevention, which is ensuring that buildings are meeting the requirements of the fire code. The third and final line is suppression, which is firefighters going out to fight a fire if one happens.

Hoffmann explained most fire departments combine public education and prevention into one position, and that Caledon is the first fire service to have a deputy chief assigned to each of the three lines of defense.

All three deputy chiefs will be working together to make Caledon a safer place.

With regards to her leadership style, Hoffmann said she is very collaborative. She also said she's extremely passionate about fire safety, something her friends and family can attest to. 

“I never shut it off. It's something that I live, eat and breathe all the time, even when I'm not working,” said Hoffmann. “When I'm out for dinner with my husband and kids… they ask me to wait until after we eat if I notice something wrong… any type of fire safety issue.”

Hoffmann said she began her career at The Hospital for Sick Children as their fire marshal and emergency planner. Seeing children who had been injured by burns really impacted Hoffmann, and made her passionate about working to prevent fires before they can happen. Since then, that passion has only grown.

Fire safety tools are simple, and the messaging around them is straightforward, said Hoffmann. It's just that people are so busy and dealing with so many things in their lives that they can forget about it. She explained when people are at home, they feel safe, but that's actually when they're most at risk of being caught in a fire — and while fire drills are mandated for schools and businesses, they aren't for homes. Hoffmann emphasized it is critical for people to have an escape plan ready for their house, and to keep up with making sure their smoke alarms work.

Hoffmann has a unique idea she's trying to implement that will help remind people to check their smoke alarms: painting the face-off circles on Town hockey rinks as a smoke alarm.

“As a former hockey mom, you spend a lot of time in those arenas and when you're sitting in the arena and you're watching your kid play, if… every time they face off you're seeing a message that says ‘working smoke alarms save lives', maybe that just tweaks you to have a look at your smoke alarm when you get home,” said Hoffmann.

She said her favourite part of her job is when she's talking to someone and she can see “the light go on” in their head and they understand they can be an ambassador for fire safety. She loves to meet new people and find out how they can add fire safety into their lives.

Caledon's Fire Chief, Dave Forfar, said in a news release that everyone is very excited to be welcoming Hoffmann to the Caledon Fire and Emergency Services team.

“Deputy Hoffmann has made an impact wherever she has been throughout her career, whether it was in North York as a fire prevention officer, working at ground zero of the World Trade Center in 2001 with Toronto Fire, or launching fire safety awareness programs during her time with Barrie Fire. We know she will have a positive impact on our team and throughout our community,” said Forfar.