St. Thomas Fire Chief, Rob Broadbent, died Monday (Aug. 28) after a brief battle with kidney cancer at age 56.

Broadbent had been on sick leave from the department for much of the summer.

He was born in St. Thomas and served with the fire department for 32 years, including fire chief since 2010.

St. Thomas Mayor Heather Jackson paid tribute to Broadbent, and his leadership role with the service.

“The entire City family is devastated by the loss of a tremendous leader and a strategic director of our Fire Service. We extend our deepest sympathies to the Chief’s wife Deb and his entire family.”

Broadbent will be remembered in this corner for his refreshing sense of humour, his love of running, his eagerness to work with the media, his invitations to join firefighters in training sessions and demonstrations and his overall concern for the safety and well-being of those who served – both past and present – in the city’s fire service.

Full obit and funeral arrangements can be found here