Firefighters' union pegs deputy chief for top job

[five_alarm]

London's deputy fire chief is the top pick of the firefighters' union for the chief's job if Dave Hodgins resigns, union president Jim Holmes said yesterday. John Kobarda, 46, has been deputy chief since 1999. Holmes said if Hodgins leaves, it's "crucial" for someone internal to replace him. "They have the experience here, they know the city, they know the council, they know how things work," he said. "For somebody coming in from outside and trying to gain that experience, especially in the short time frame we're talking about with negotiations coming up and the budget and everything else, would be extremely difficult."


Source: The London Free Press (http://www.firehall.com/refer.php?url=http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/LondonFreePress/News/2003/12/04/276293.html&linkid=289&parent=news(headlines)&)