New fire chief announced for Plympton-Wyoming

Plympton-Wyoming has hired a new fire chief and director of fire and emergency services.

Erik Campbell, currently fire chief and manager of emergency response and planning at St. John’s International Airport Authority in Newfoundland, is scheduled to begin work in Plympton-Wyoming Oct. 2, the municipality said in a news release.

“He was very well respected everywhere that he had been before, and they all hated to lose him, basically,” said Gary Atkinson, mayor of Plympton-Wyoming.

Campbell has worked in fire services for 20 years and spent 15 years in the military. He also served previously as a volunteer firefighter, and holds post-secondary degrees and certificates in leadership and emergency management.

“We had a good selection to choose from with a wide range of skill and service,” Atkinson said. “And Mr. Campbell came out on top.”

Plympton-Wyoming, a town of 8,000 residents located next to Sarnia, has been without a permanent fire chief since the municipality parted ways with former chief, Darryl Thompson in the spring.

Thompson had been on administrative leave since February.

He was hired in 2021 to head the town’s fire and emergency services department, starting the job several months after Steve Clements, who had been fire chief since 2017, stepped down “to focus on other personal and professional opportunities,” the municipality said at the time.

“We want to move forward,” Atkinson said. “We’ve got two departments and we want to continue to get them working together as a team.”

The town has fire stations in Wyoming and Camlachie and 60 part-time, on-call firefighters, according to its website.

Along with a full-time chief, the town’s fire service has an administrative assistant and two part-time, on-call district fire chiefs.

Campbell was a “well-respected and proven leader” in his previous posts, Atkinson said.

“I’m very comfortable with what I’ve seen from Mr. Campbell, so far,” he said. “I think he’s what we need.”

In a news release, Campbell said he’s looking forward to serving the town and “incorporating a collaborative and empowerment approach to further create a strong team and build a psychologically safe environment allowing all members to contribute and grow.”

Campbell added he looks forward to working with council and the town’s fire executive committee “in strengthening the overall safety of the community and further increasing the quality of service provided, making the Town of Plympton-Wyoming desired as a place to live, play, grow and work.”

The town also shared ways in the spring with its former chief administrator, Carolyn Tripp. She had been in the job since 2016.

“We should have an announcement in the next few days on that one, too,” Atkinson said about the town’s chief administrator post.

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