Deputy fire chief hanging up hose after 42 years
By Jason Miller
The Intelligencer
Link to article: Deputy fire chief hanging up hose after 42 years
Deputy Chief Bruce Greatrix is moving on after 42 years in firefighting.
“I’m excited and a bit apprehensive too,” he said. “I’m turning a new page here after 42 years.”
Greatrix paused to give thought to the sacrifice his wife, Nora Anne, and family have made over the years.
“Through my 42 years, she’s put up with pagers and calls in the middle of the night, so she’s looking forward to this as well,” he said.
A retirement reception was held at the hall, Friday, to bid him farewell.
Though nervous about life after cleaning out his office Monday, Greatrix is confident he’s leaving a department on steady footing and under the solid stewardship.
He’s been part of the team which spearheaded the development of three new halls, including the new headquarters and a new hall in Point Anne, where he started.
“I was the lead on bringing the Point Anne station to fruition,” he said of a career highlight.
The department also broke ground in several other areas during his tenure.
“We were one of the first departments in this area to get tanker shuttle accreditation,” he said of the department demonstrating a level satisfactory to insurers that it can handle fires in a rural area without access to fire hydrants. “That has a direct impact on insurance rates of people, who live in direct proximity of the fire hall.”
Greatrix also paved inroads in championing the use of portable tanks, which resemble a portable swimming pool filled with whatever is used to feed the tankers.
“We were one of the first in the area to start utilizing those in rural areas, which improves our firefighting on the scene,” he said. They were also one of the first to launch a rescue unit equipped with the jaws of life. “There was a number of people who worked very hard to develop that unit.”
Greatrix, 66, started his career on the then Thurlow Township volunteer crew back in 1975.
“I spent 20 years as a volunteer, then I was hired on as the Thurlow fire chief,” he said, of ascending through the ranks.
He only served as fire chief for about three years, when Thurlow was amalgamated with Belleville.
“I came on with the city as a deputy fire chief,” he said.
He’s proud to walk away at this stage.
“The department is well-positioned,” he said.
Chief Mark MacDonald said Greatrix has been a key player in the department’s enhancement.
“He has been a fantastic person to work with,” MacDonald said. “Bruce is very level-headed and has a positive and thoughtful approach on issues. He was the person who would offer me that second sober thought on issues before you make decision. I’m going to miss having Bruce.”