A Wilson鈥檚 Landing firefighter is taking over as the new fire chief, starting today.

Don Bennison has been with the department since 2005, chairing the department Officer鈥檚 Committee and serving as Deputy Chief since 2011.

According to Regional District of Central Okanagan Fire Services Manager Ross Kotscherofski, Bennison is well known in the Wilson鈥檚 Landing and Traders Cove communities due to his long-service with the fire department.

鈥淗e鈥檚 well respected by everyone involved with the fire service and played an instrumental role over the past few years in directing the Wilson鈥檚 Landing response to several recent interface wildfires in the area. Don served as Incident Commander during the recent Pine Point wildfire and last summer鈥檚 Cinnabar Creek blaze. He also led the nighttime evacuation of Traders Cove during the 2016 Bear Creek wildfire,鈥� said Kotscherofski.

Chief Bennison takes over from former chief Rob Baker who recently stepped down and remains with the department in a leadership role.