Belleville’s first female fire chief sworn in

It was a milestone day in Belleville on Monday as the city’s first female fire chief was sworn in.

Monique Belair was sworn in at a ceremony at City Hall attended by city council, Bay of Quinte MP Neil Ellis, Bay of Quinte MPP Todd Smith and others, including many members of the Belleville Fire Department.

Belair has more than 30 years of firefighting experience.

Most recently, she served more than seven years as the Deputy Fire Chief with the City of St. Catharines and Town of Oakville but she started her firefighting career as one of just a handful of female firefighters with the Canadian Armed Forces.

She was feeling all the emotions after the ceremony.

“Overwhelmed, excited, anxious, happy, passionate, it’s just, it’s the cherry on top. Thirty-six years all wrapped up into 30 minutes, so, it’s a very emotional day for me.”

Her first order of business will be to meet the members of not only the Belleville Fire Department but also peers from other emergency services in the area.

Belair says she’s not looking to make any immediate changes within the department.

“I think, for me, the first thing is to learn the background and the history of the department and before you can make any change you need to understand the culture. So for me it’s making those relationships before I make any decisions.”

Belair replaces former Fire Chief Mark Macdonald who retired in March.

New Belleville Fire Chief, Monique Belair receives the Change of Command Presentation Ax from acting Fire Chief Don Corbett at a swearing-in ceremony at City Hall, June 28,2021. (Photo: Quinte News/Alana Cameron)

New Belleville Fire Chief, Monique Belair addresses council at her swearing-in ceremony at City Hall, June 28,2021. (Photo: Quinte News/Alana Cameron)