Surrey's fire chief has been named president of the Fire Chiefs' Association of B.C.
Len Garis was elected by acclamation at an annual conference in Abbotsford on Monday.
Over the last decade, Garis has garnered several awards including the Union of B.C. Municipalities Community Excellence Awards, for three different programs, a Flame Award from the Fire Chiefs’ Association of B.C., a Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia Award for Public Safety, and recognition from the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General.
"I think it gives our fire chief the ability to move our issues that are common with other fire departments," said Deputy Fire Chief Jon Caviglia. "He's a very bright man, and he's been able to do great things in Surrey. Hopefully he can do some of that throughout the province."
Garis has worked in the fire service and related fields since 1980, joining the Surrey Fire Service in 1998 and currently leads a team of 380 career firefighters and 100 volunteer firefighters. In 2010, he was appointed as an Adjunct Professor at the University of the Fraser Valley’s Centre for Public Safety and Criminal Justice Research. He has also been a member of the FIREfighting in Canada editorial advisory board since 2005 and previously served on the board of directors of the Surrey Crime Prevention Society.
The Fire Chiefs' Association of British Columbia is a non-profit organization that was formed in 1931 to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and educational information relative to the Fire Service of British Columbia.