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VanPagee to Become Fire Chief for Norwich Township

Tuesday, 18 January 2022 at 08:09

Derek VanPagee will become take over as the Director of Fire and Protective Services for Norwich Township on January 31st.

NORWICH - The Township of Norwich has a new fire chief.

Derek VanPagee will officially become the new Director of Fire and Protective Services on January 31st. He has been doing the role since late November, following the retirement of Paul Groeneveld. Groeneveld isn't officially retired though until January 31st, which is when Van Pagee will have the new title. 

VanPagee says the biggest adjustment to the new role thus far has been being on call 24/7. 

"It has been an interesting curve ball for me, finding out how busy it actually is as a fire chief. I am looking forward to working within all the different fire stations, just to unite Norwich Fire Service as a whole and continue the legacy the previous Chief left and it was a great legacy." 

VanPagee has been with the Norwich Fire Services for the past 10 years, holding several different positions. 

"I have held a variety of different positions with the Township of Norwich fire services from lead educator for the township, training officer, captain within a station. I also was the full time rural fire services training officer for 5 municipalities before becoming fire chief."

VanPagee says he understands he has big shoes to fill and hopes to convince Groeneveld to stay on in some capacity.

"I learned a lot from him, wishing him well going into his retirement and I am hoping to retain him as a specialized trainer for some of the unique courses that we offer such as our MTO licensing course, our DZ course and some of our inspector courses, he has a wealth of knowledge that we are hoping to still utilize." 

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