The City's Employee Spotlight series recognizes and celebrates our people and the great work they do serving the residents of Thunder Bay.
April Employee Spotlight: Houston Welsh
Houston Welsh knew early on what he wanted to do and where he wanted to do it: he would become a firefighter and continue to live in Northern Ontario.
“Growing up in Timmins, I was always close to nature and enjoyed things like hiking, biking and hockey,” says Houston.
After completing a high school co-op program supporting the prevention and training divisions within the Timmins Fire Department, Houston went on to graduate from Northern College with a pre-service firefighter certificate. From there, he accepted a work experience program on a one-year contract with Merritt Fire Rescue in BC before returning to Timmins to enrol in a two-year paramedic program.
“After graduation I started looking at Thunder Bay as an affordable place to live and work with opportunities to grow. The city had everything I wanted, including being a great place to start a family.”
Houston joined the Thunder Bay Fire Rescue in 2011 as a Firefighter, and in 2021, he applied and was accepted for a temporary opening in the Training Division. As a Training Officer, he appreciated the work-life balance of the schedule and accepted a promotion to a permanent position in 2023.
His job involves training Firefighters through the ranks, starting with recruits. There are a lot of logistics involved in balancing who is available to support classes and where and when works best to ensure Firefighters receive the highest standard of training and certification in areas such as rescue, hazardous materials, and medical.
“While my job affords me some autonomy over how I schedule my day, I rely on the support of a wider team comprised of people who go out of their way to ensure our Firefighters are equipped with the best skills and knowledge to be successful in their jobs.”
Next on the horizon for Houston and his team is the spring recruitment process where it’s not uncommon to receive upwards of 500 applicants.
“The website will be updated soon, and we encourage anyone interested in joining our team to apply.”
Applicants can learn more at www.thunderbay.ca/firerescue
Employees are encouraged to nominate a colleague for an upcoming Spotlight and help shine a light on the great work underway at the City.
View archived Employee Spotlights:
Contact Us
Connect
