---

OPFFA Board of Directors

---

---

Carmen Santoro
President

Carmen recently retired from the Oakville Fire Department at the rank of Captain with over 30 years in the fire service. While as an Oakville fire fighter Carmen served as the Oakville Professional Fire Fighters Association President for almost 20 years.
 
Carmen served the Ontario Professional Fire Fighters Association in various capacities. In 2010 he was elected as a District Vice President and served for 4 years. In 2014 Carmen was elected President of the Association and held that office for 2 years before deciding to take a break. In the meantime he was re-elected as President of the Oakville Professional Fire Fighters Association and served until his retirement from Oakville Fire in September of 2020.
 
In June of 2020 Carmen decided to get back involved in the OPFFA and was re-elected to serve as President. 
Carmen proudly represents the over 11,000 professional fire fighters over our 80 Associations across the province.

---

Greg Horton
Secretary Treasurer

Greg is a Captain with Richmond Hill Fire & Emergency Services and holds the rank of Captain with 21 years in the Fire Service.
 
Greg served the Richmond Hill Professional Fire Fighters Association L-1957 for 17 years as a Steward, Vice-President and 14 years as Local President. He also served at the OPFFA as a Member & Chair of the Education Committee, and at the IAFF as an Advocate.
 
Greg is passionate about the labour movement and representing Fire Fighters,  and proudly looks forward to serving the OPFFA membership as the Secretary / Treasurer.

---

Peter Dyson
Director, Zone 1

Peter has been with the Oshawa Fire Service for over 14 years and currently serves as the President of the Oshawa Professional Fire Fighters Association IAFF local 465. Prior to serving as President Peter has held numerous roles within the local including Vice President, Grievance Committee Chair, Government Relations Committee Chair, Trustee and served on numerous other committees.
 
During his tenure as President Peter has provided strategic leadership during a time of unprecedented change and transformation through advocacy, collaborative partnerships and strategic campaigns. He has partnered with the IAFF to support 2 GIS analysis regarding Oshawa Fire Services, engaged other IAFF resources to leverage the locals' resources and develop a comprehensive communications strategy/ public relations campaign. He has developed a communications and public relations campaign that has led to new strategic partnerships with community organizations and senior officials within the City. He has engaged local and provincial organizations to ensure frontline fire fighters are represented in a formal and positive manner, while building his local into the voice of Public Safety in Oshawa. He has also over seen numerous Freedom of Information Requests. 
 
Peter represents over 20 Locals in Zone 1 ensuring their voice is heard at the provincial table.

---

Mark LaLonde
Director, Zone 2

---

Dan VanderLelie
Director, Zone 3

Dan has been a firefighter for 21 years and currently holds the position of Acting Platoon Chief with the Burlington fire Department.  As a member of the Burlington Professional Firefighters Association he has served as president for the past 15 years.  Dan has committed to continue his education through numerous opportunities such as the Ottawa Harvard Labour studies  along with the Ryerson University Lancaster Labour relations program. 

Dan currently holds the position of Zone 3 director with the Ontario Professional Fire Fighters Association. He previously served for four years as a District Vice President and has been involved in numerous committees within the OPFFA over the past 18 years.  

---

Chris Varcoe
Director, Zone 4

Chris has been a firefighter for over 24 years and currently holds the rank of District Chief with Mississauga Fire.  He has been active with his association since 2005, serving as Vice President, then President in 2010.  He has previously served as a District Vice President of the OPFFA and today as a Director.  

Chris is active in provincial and municipal politics, regularly lobbying for improved working conditions for professional firefighters, has served on numerous committees over the years and is particularly active on pension issues affecting his members.

Chris continues to participate in education opportunities and is a graduate of the Ottawa University and Tefler School of Management Executive Leadership program and the Ryerson University Lancaster Labour Relations program.

---

Kevin McCarthy
Director, Zone 5

Kevin is a Captain for the Toronto Fire Services and is currently serving in his 31st year. Kevin was elected in 1999 during the amalgamation of the City of Toronto. It was a challenging time for the city and the various labour organizations. In the consecutive years, Kevin was elected to the Executive Board until he decided to take on more responsibility assuming the Vice President's role for Local 3888. The Toronto Professional Firefighters Association is the largest Fire Association in Canada and the fifth biggest organization in North America. Kevin has served in the position of Vice President for two terms.
 
Kevin is proud to represent Zone 5 as a Director since the inception of this model in 2020. After previously holding the Benefits Committee Chair for the Ontario Provincial Firefighters Association for two terms, he takes on this role with a good understanding of how this organization works.  
 
Kevin proudly represents the over 11,000 professional Firefighters over our 80 Associations across the province.

---

We're Here for You.

Please don't hesitate to contact your Zone Director if you need assistance with something in your home local.

Big or small, we are here to help.

---

OPFFA Presidents Emeritus

Fred LeBlanc
OPFFA President Emeritus
District 13 VP, IAFF

Patrick J. DeFazio
OPFFA President Emeritus

Jim Lee
OPFFA President Emeritus

Jack Fenton
OPFFA President Emeritus