Council for the Rural Municipality of Hanover has announced major changes to its personnel structure regarding fire protection services.

When Ken Hiebert resigned this spring as Chief for New Bothwell Fire Station, it left a vacancy. That prompted the Hanover Fire Chief Association to recommend to Hanover Council to move towards becoming a one chief department with a deputy being appointed from each of the three stations in Grunthal, Kleefeld and New Bothwell. Council has now approved that recommendation.

Reeve Stan Toews says beginning June 1st, Grunthal Fire Chief Paul Wiebe will be appointed Fire Chief of the Hanover Fire Department.

"He's been with Hanover a long time," says Toews. "The departments all like him."

Wiebe started with the Grunthal Department in January, 1990 as a volunteer firefighter. Thirteen years later he jumped to Fire Chief, after the resignation of Abe Friesen. Wiebe has also served as Chair of the Hanover Fire Chief Association for approximately eight years.

"I'm very thrilled I guess and honoured to be hired or chosen to have the confidence of the fire chiefs and firefighters in Hanover to have my name put forward for this position," says Wiebe.

Wiebe admits this move is years in the making. He says management of their stations in Hanover has become a lot of work as the result of population growth sparking more calls. Wiebe says this position will start as part time, but suggests it could evolve. As part of that, Wiebe will also be responsible for handling fire inspections within Hanover; something Ken Hiebert had been doing.

Wiebe assures residents that the way Hanover firefighters respond to calls will not change as the result of this announcement.

"We're still going to respond at a very high level from the existing halls," he says. "Some things will be in the administration and in the upper levels that will see some changes. But as far as our firefighters are concerned, it's going to be business as usual."

There had been consideration given to renaming the three halls in the municipality to all include the Hanover name, but Toews says they have decided to leave that alone.