Today in front of colleagues, family and friends, Kingston Fire Chief Harold Tulk announced his intention to retire as Chief of Kingston’s Fire & Rescue at the end of this year.
“It is time to hang up my helmet and call an end to my 42 years of service,” says Chief Tulk. “I have been very fortunate to spend a lifetime with so many fine people.”
Chief Tulk was the City’s first Fire Chief for the newly amalgamated City of Kingston and is responsible for amalgamating fire services in the three separate communities into one service to meet the needs of all residents. He has been Fire Chief of Kingston Fire & Rescue and County Fire Coordinator for the Counties of Frontenac, Lennox and Addington since 2002 and is also responsible for fire prevention, training, operations and emergency planning for the City.
In recent years, Chief Tulk has led and championed the development of the City of Kingston’s first Master Fire Plan. The plan was completed and adopted by Kingston City Council in 2010. One of the key pillars in the plan’s 20 recommendations called for the creation of a centre of learning excellence for industrial and emergency services, a first of its kind in Kingston. In large part due to his work, the new Fire & Rescue Training Centre is officially under construction on Terry Fox Drive.
Over his 42-year career, Chief Tulk has had several personal accomplishments. He was:
* Appointed “Fellow” with Queen’s University’s School of Democratic Studies (2006).
* Awarded special commendation for his contribution to the development of Ontario 2010 Fire Services by Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs.
* Awarded special commendation for contributions to the development of Canadian Fire Services (2010).
* Appointed as Secretary to the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs (2007-2010) and served as Chairman of the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs Government Relations Committee during this time.
“Today I want to, first and foremost, congratulate Chief Tulk on his years of dedicated service in fire protection, prevention and education in our community,” said Denis Leger, Commissioner of Transportation, Properties and Emergency Services. “As the first Fire Chief of an amalgamated City of Kingston he was instrumental in uniting fire services and creating a single service vision to meet the needs of our growing community. Chief Tulk will be greatly missed for his leadership, passion and dedication to public service.”
Mayor Mark Gerretsen attended the announcement and provided comments on behalf of Council and the Kingston Community.
“Today we’re here to celebrate a great career of over 42 years of public service,” said Mayor Gerretsen. “Chief Tulk has demonstrated his dedication to the improvement of fire prevention and education in Kingston since amalgamation and was instrumental in the vision and creation of our Master Fire Plan, the first of its kind for the City of Kingston.”
The Mayor went on to acknowledge the community impact Kingston residents have seen since Chief Tulk took on the lead role. “Under Chief Tulk, we have experienced improved levels of service and protection for our residents. This has made our community safer for all those who live, work and play here,” said Mayor Gerretsen.
The City will now begin a search for a new Fire Chief to replace Chief Tulk.
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Sources: City of Kingston
