Former Markham Fire Chief William Snowball has come out of retirement to take over the reins of the Whitchurch-Stouffville Fire Department, bringing more than 41 years of experience to a position that oversees 38 full-time and 40 volunteer firefighters.
“We are very excited to have someone of Bill’s experience join our team as chief. Bill has a passion for the fire service and is well respected,” says Whitchurch-Stouffville Mayor Iain Lovatt. “Bill has a reputation of excelling in his leadership skills and his public education initiatives.”
Snowball launched his career as a volunteer firefighter for Markham in 1974 and became a fulltime firefighter in 1985. He worked his way up the ranks – first as a volunteer firefighter then full-time firefighter, fire captain, platoon chief and deputy fire chief before becoming fire chief in 2009. He retired in 2016.
The Whitchurch-Stouffville position became vacant when former Chief Richard Renaud announced in March that he had accepted a position in Burlington. His last day was April 14 and Snowball takes over April 17.