Volunteer Fire Department chief let go by the organization’s board of directors

A man dressed in dark clothing leans on a truck with red duffle bags at his feet.
Former Cortes Island Fire Chief Dave Ives prepares to hand in his gear at Fire Hall Number 1 on Cortes Island. Photo by Greg Osoba.
Greg Osoba - CKTZ - Cortes IslandBC | 04-11-2022
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Cortes Island's fire chief was dismissed this week after five months on the job.

Dave Ives was only a few weeks shy of completing his six month probation as chief of the Cortes Island Volunteer Fire Department.

Ives said he was summoned to a meeting with the organization's board of directors but that the meeting didn't happen, and, instead, he was issued notice of his dismissal on Nov. 2. Ives says he believes the issue came down to not seeing eye to eye with the board of the Cortes Island Fire Fighting Association.

CKTZ News requested comment from the Cortes Island Fire Fighting Association Board of Directors and was issued a written statement from President Chris Walker.

"Unfortunately[,] it became apparent that there were aspects of his leadership style that were at odds with the culture of our fire department and our efforts to help him adapt his style to our culture did not succeed. Matters deteriorated and we realized that we needed to be honest with him and ourselves that this was not going to workout," the statement reads.

Listen to the CKTZ story below: