The City of Weyburn is continuing to lose key people due to low wages, as Fire Chief Denis Pilon is the latest city official to hand in his resignation and seek greener pastures elsewhere.

After serving in the Weyburn Fire Department for 18 years, 15 of those as the Fire Chief, Pilon notified the city on Wednesday that he will be leaving for Swift Current, where he will serve as the Deputy Fire Chief in charge of fire prevention and inspections.

The city has unsuccessfully tried recruiting a deputy chief to help Pilon with his administrative duties, but due to the wages the city is offering they have been unable to fill that position - and, adds Pilon, is the key reason why he's now leaving the city.

"We made offers to a number of people (for deputy chief) and were turned down because the money wasn't enough. The salary range in Weyburn is low, and we've tried to correct that. We've fought with council over this issue," said Pilon, noting he will now be making $11,000 more a year in his new position as deputy chief than he is currently earning as the Fire Chief. "It's all about the dollars."

Mayor Debra Button acknowledged the reason why Pilon is leaving, and said his departure will be felt acutely.

"He struggled with his decision. Part of it was we couldn't attract a deputy chief for him," said the mayor. "He will be really missed. He's been an excellent teacher for the Fire Brigade, and he's been very involved in the community. I'm very sad to see him go; he's made his decision, and I hope he'll be happy with it."

As far as the challenge to now fill the top two positions, Mayor Button said, "I think we're going to have to look at more money. It's hard to, but we just need to do it. We've felt the loss of a lot of key people. In a lot of key areas, however, we just can't compete with the oil industry, so we need solutions, and we need them sooner rather than later. We've had good people in place, but they have made decisions of what's best for them and their families."

Asked what accomplishments he's proud of with the Weyburn Fire Department, Chief Pilon said there were three key things he was able to bring a large improvement in.

"The first thing is the level of training of our fire fighters. It's gone from virtually nothing to having every fire fighter certified and trained. The guys are doing a fantastic job, and I'm leaving behind a well-trained fire department," said Pilon.

The second area is the equipment used by the Fire Department.

"When I first came here, most of the trucks were home-made units; now they're state-of-the-art, manufactured to high CSA standards," he said, adding the third area is the current Fire Hall housing the Fire Department.

"The fire hall we were housed in was a barn built for horses," he said of the original hall built in 1914, which still stands behind the old City Hall building. "Now we're in a modern building that will serve the department for another 15-20 years at least.

Asked which fire incidents stand out for him from his 18 years here, Pilon pointed to the recent train derailment as a definite highlight, as one of the most serious major incidents he has ever been a part of in his career.

He said it was a major challenge to handle, as it involved a lot of people from many agencies and authorities.

"I actually enjoyed it, but it was a trying time also. There's a lot of incidents that will stay with me. We've had a couple of fire fatalities, and those will stay with me forever," said Pilon.

"I've really enjoyed Weyburn and being in the community. I'm going to miss a lot of people in Weyburn, especially the fire fighters. They were like a family to me; I will miss them immensely," said Chief Pilon.