Pegg to step down as city’s fire chief
COVID-19 incident commander to retire in October after 32 years of active service
Toronto Fire Services Chief Matthew Pegg, who led the department for eight years and played a critical role in the city’s COVID-19 response, is stepping down from the job.
In a statement issued Friday, Pegg said he had told the Toronto Fire Services (TFS) command team that morning that he had decided to retire.
“I am deeply appreciative to be able to retire healthy, after more than 32 years of active service,” said Pegg, 50, in the statement posted to X, formerly Twitter.
“There has not been a single day when I have not been immensely proud to wear the Toronto Fire Services uniform, and to serve alongside this incredible team of 3,265 professionals.”
Although Pegg has been in charge of TFS for almost a decade, most Torontonians came to know him in his role as COVID-19 incident commander, an assignment he took in March 2020 at the onset of the pandemic and held for two years.
As the head of Toronto’s immunization task force, Pegg also led the city’s vaccination effort, which was been lauded as among the most successful in the world.
In an interview Friday, Pegg said that even for a veteran emergency response official like him, the unexpected responsibility of guiding the city through a once-in-a-generation health crisis was taxing.
“Stressful doesn’t even begin to describe the way that that felt to me,” he said.
“I had a front-row seat to watching the very, very best of this city and the very, very best in people step up to meet the challenges of something that was beyond unprecedented,” he added.
“To have been able to play a small part in that and to be able to have served along the incredible Toronto public service team … was something I will never forget.“
Pegg, a native of Keswick, Ont., joined the TFS in 2013 as deputy chief, after stints at fire departments in Georgina, Ajax and Brampton. He was appointed interim chief in 2016, and got the permanent job the following year.
Mayor Olivia Chow was among the city leaders who thanked Pegg for his service Friday.
“It has been an honour to work alongside you,” she said in a post to X.
“We are all grateful for your years of service in keeping Toronto safe.”
De Villa said in a statement she would miss working with her “colleague and friend.”
“His tireless dedication, collaborative spirit and unwavering commitment to service have been invaluable,” she said.
Pegg, who holds a pilot’s licence, said he doesn’t know what he’ll do next, but expects to take a job outside of firefighting. His last day will be Oct. 4.