The Electrical Safety Authority Names Doug Crawford, Vice President and Chief Public Safety Officer

TORONTO, Dec. 20, 2011 /CNW/ - David Collie, President and CEO of the Electrical Safety Authority (ESA), is pleased to announce that Doug Crawford will join ESA in late January as Vice President and Chief Public Safety Officer. 

Doug joins ESA from the Office of the Fire Marshal (OFM) of Ontario where he was Deputy Fire Marshal.  His experience in harm prevention strategy and management of OFM activities is an excellent fit with ESA and the role of the Chief Public Safety Officer.

"We're extremely pleased to have someone with such deep experience step into the role of ESA's Chief Public Safety Officer," said David Collie.  "We have worked with Doug in his capacity as Deputy Fire Marshal on a number of shared safety initiatives.  He brings great knowledge, experience, and insight."

As Deputy Fire Marshal, Doug developed strategies and policies with the Fire Marshal of Ontario to reduce fire risk and loss, provided advice to government on public safety issues, managed internal and external stakeholder relationships to advance safety, and led a team with accountability for investigations, regulatory development, Fire Code administration, and research.

Among the achievements in which Doug played a central role has been the development of a balanced risk strategy that has contributed to a significant drop in fatalities and structural fires in Ontario over the last decade.  He also developed a system with the OFM to identify fire safety trends and emerging issues.  He has led the implementation of numerous amendments to the Ontario Fire Code, and chaired a national organization that provided policy advice on such issues as harmonizing codes across provinces, development of a National Energy Code for buildings and updating the National Farm Building Code.

Prior to becoming Deputy Fire Marshal, Doug held a number of roles in the OFM including Manager of Field Services, Chief Technical Research and Consulting Services, Assistant Chief, and Fire Protection Engineer.  Prior to joining the Ontario public service, he worked as a Project Engineer for two consulting engineering firms.  He holds a Masters in Engineering from the University of Toronto and is a Registered Professional Engineer.

Doug succeeds Peter Marcucci who retired from ESA in December, 2011.

For further information:

Media Enquiries
ESA Communications,
Cathy Chernysh, 905-712-5371