The Port Huron Fire Department welcomed their new chief at a change of command ceremony Friday. Corey Nicholson, who most recently was Batallion Chief for the department, has officially succeeded Dan Mainguy as head of the Port Huron Fire Department. Mainguy had been with the department for over 29 years, holding a variety of leadership positions including Battalion Chief and Operations Chief. He became Fire Chief after the resignation of the Public Safety director Michael Reeves, and subsequent elimination of the public safety director position last year. City Manager James Freed tells WPHM he believes the fire and police departments, respectively, operate more efficiently without a director of public safety. Furthermore, Freed says chief Mainguy had done an “honorable and effective” job at heading the department. New chief Corey Nicholson says he’s not the only one with a new title at the department. Speaking to WPHM on Friday, Nicholson says a new fire marshal has been hired and that several others will be welcomed to the department next month. He adds that it is getting more difficult to fill openings in the department, saying training requirements are more intensive and the job market is very competitive.
