The City of Saskatoon’s fire chief is retiring. The announcement was made today (Monday).  Fire Chief Morgan Hackl has been with the Saskatoon Fire Department for just over 36 years and has been chief since 2015.

He says there have been a lot of changes since 1987, when they would have responded to about 2,000 calls a year and most were fire calls. There would be the odd motor vehicle collision and the odd heart attack call or serious injury. “Today, our business is, we are an all hazard fire service. We respond to many community needs and this year we will have close to 25,000 calls. Being an all hazard fire service means along with fires they also respond to overdoses, vehicle crashes, general medical calls and providing support to the unhoused.

Chief Morgan is proud of the way staff have supported the community in many different ways, including a group from the Saskatoon Fire Department responding to the Humboldt bus crash and then adapting to responding to calls during the pandemic. He says, “I would say that I am really proud of the people side of our business. We have been able to look at ourselves to find ways to better support the community and I think we have achieved that.”

This past September, Hackl was given the national fire chief of the year award for his work on community safety and building partnerships. His final day of service is expected to be no later than the end of March.