Former police officer and retiring fire chief reflects on his time in Guelph

Guelph’s fire chief is ready to hang up his hat.

Dave Elloway is set to retire on March 31 after serving as the fire chief since January of 2020, just as the world was about to come to grips with a global pandemic.

He says during his eight years with the Guelph Fire Department, it was great working with the firefighters and staff.

“The firefighters, they never missed a beat through the pandemic,” said Elloway. “They were there every day. They were providing services that needed to be provided to the community and were willing to go the extra mile.”

Before joining the Guelph Fire Department, Elloway worked with the Guelph police for over 20 years.

He says he was working as part of emergency management during the 2003 blackout and that got him interested in learning more about that part of emergency services.

“I was involved as an alternate during the 2003 blackout,” Elloway recalled. “I got me fascinated and so I ended up going back to school and got a master’s degree in emergency management.”

One of Elloway’s accomplishments was leading the Guelph Fire Department to re-accreditation through the Commission on Fire Accreditation International.

“Accredited agency status is a highly sought-after designation by fire departments worldwide,” said deputy CAO for public services Colleen Clack-Bush, adding that Guelph is only one of nine such accredited departments in Canada.

Elloway says he has no plans to relax. In fact, he will continue to do work in the community.

“I have over 20 years in the Canadian Air Cadet program here in Guelph,” Elloway said. “I’m also flying with the Wingham air cadets on weekends during the spring and fall. I’m also vice-chair of the Crime Stoppers Guelph Wellington and will continue to do that as well.”