Saskatoon fire chief Morgan Hackl named top chief in Canada

Morgan Hackl has been commanding fires and emergencies in Saskatoon for almost a decade, and his leadership has garnered praise from his peers.

Saskatoon’s fire chief was presented Tuesday with the 2023 National Fire Chief of the Year Award by the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs. Hackl was recognized for reimagining and expanding the roles of Saskatoon Fire Department (SFD) in non-traditional public safety initiatives through community collaboration and outreach partnerships.

City Manager Jeff Jorgenson, says the award is a reflection of Chief Hackl’s leadership and creative solutions to complex community challenges. From his role as a strong mentor and supporter of Saskatoon fire executive officers, to his leadership throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Chief Hackl recognizes that community challenges are a shared responsibility, and that Saskatoon fire plays a key role our community’s most challenging issues,” said Jorgenson.

“He gained firsthand knowledge of the challenges to the most vulnerable in the community he serves, participating this year in the Sanctum Survivor Challenge, where he spent 36 hours living as if homeless on the streets of Saskatoon.”

Jorgenson also praised Hackl’s ability to forge important relationships, Hackl helped forge a partnership between Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) and Saskatoon fire to establish an overdose outreach team comprised of primary care paramedics from his team and SHA addictions counsellors.

“It takes vision and courage to lead the way Chief Hackl does and as an organization we congratulate him on this much deserved recognition!”

Hackl has been a member of the SFD for 35 years, starting as a firefighter and moving up to captain.

He later served as battalion chief and assistant chief before being promoted to his current role in 2015.