Andrew Bellerby is no longer the Regional District of Central Kootenay’s top fire chief.
Bellerby, who was hired by the RDCK in January 2016, told the Star in an email Tuesday he was still an employee but was “not at liberty to discuss” his job status.
One day later, chief administrator Stuart Horn confirmed Bellerby was no longer an employee. Horn did not say whether Bellerby resigned or was fired.
Bellerby, whose job title was general manager of fire and emergency services, was listed as having earned a salary of $134,749 in 2018, according to the RDCK’s statement of financial information.
He moved to the Kootenays after previously working in the United Kingdom as an anti-terrorism specialist and incident commander.
His departure follows a couple of others in the department within the last 15 months. In April 2018, deputy chief George Seigler left to become a deputy in Grand Forks. Seigler’s replacement, Dave McMahon, left this month to become chief in Osoyoos.
An email requesting comment from Bellerby resulted in an automated response directing questions about fire services to acting regional deputy chief Nora Hannon and questions about wildfire mitigation to emergency program manager Chris Johnson.
Related: VIDEO: RDCK launches emergency command centre
tyler.harper@nelsonstar.com
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