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Home My WebLink AboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 2009-01-07, Page 6Page A4 - Goderich Signal -Star, Wednesday, January 7, 2009 O'Brien hangs up firefighting gear after 38 years Gerard Croaos signal -star staff "You get to know when there's a time," said long-time fire chief, Mike O'Brien. "You can only sleep with one foot on the floor for so long." As of December 31, O'Brien is officially retired from his role as fire chief, capping 38 years of volunteer service to the community. Joining the force in 1970, O'Brien said he made the decision . along with fellow ,, fire-fighter Rick Sowerby. However, he added both his fa- ther-in-law and his brother are firefighters, so it came natural to him. He'said looking back, it's not the fires that stand out. It's not the tragedy or the danger that stays in his mind. What O'Brien said he will miss most is the transformation he sees in new firefighters. "It's seeing some young fel- low come into the fire depart- ment and making men out of them," he said. ".There's young fellows there that have grown into being officers." He said he's seen many young men become not only good firefighters, but family men and men who care about their community. Although, he admits, "All little boys like to jump on red trucks, I guess." He said fighting fires is equal parts exhilarating and Bangkok, Thailand last devastating. week," hesaid. " I was "It's an . -adrenaline "" in one in Portugal in the 6" rush at times," he said. `>` fall... South America... "Although it's awful '':::I've been all over the deflating at times when z . fi place." . you see something you He said even though shouldn't." ;�.,the firefighters may not During his tenure, a. '"°'° y speak the same lan- O'Brien has watched 4.f guage, • as soon as the the evolution of Goder- *�' � :gear, comes out, shop ich's fire department, as talk becomes an inter - well as that of it's equip- , ment. Over his 38 ears 4 national dialect. Y,... = O'Brien said he plans he's driven "12 of the 13 % _ to travel a lot more now motorized pieces of that he's got nothing but apparatus Goderich f= time on his hands. has had." "I worked all my "I don't think any- . life," he said. "I'm one else can say that," going to do whatever he said. = I want now. He's also seen the . "And whatever Pre - introduction of auxil- j cious tells me to do." liary members during A member of the his term, and educated Red Knights - an all- countless�� ,r ` firefighter motorcycle kids on fire t= g safety. L"" .. club - O'Brien said there "That's something I1. `� : is plenty of open road to always enjoyed," he said. cover now that he's re - "I love taking small kids b '' tired. ,, . As dangerous as fight- justthrough there. Their eyes , �,;:� ,:.,�, pop." %../...,:v, .,, t -r4 "v vg,/f ing fires is, O'Brien said Photos submi " A sense of duty, • and Above, (L -R) Rick Sowerby, Mike and Tim the job can also be hard for helping people out are the the families of firefighters. O'Brien receive service awards. Left, « qualities that keep a good fire- ' Does it affect families? O'Brien in his early days with the depart - fighter on the job he said and Yes it does," he said. "They the camaraderie felt between ment. Righ#, O'Brien as Goderich chief. don't know what we're do - fire fighters is one that spans An avid traveller, O'Brien said ing and where we're going." not only Huron County (where he always makes a point to stop But, he said, the support he's O'Brien has worked in most into fire halls wherever he visits. gotten from his family has been towns), but around the globe. "I was just in a fire hall in very rewarding. • Retiring from Champion three years ago, he said the decisiog to retire from the fire hall was 3. heavier one. "But I don't regret my decisi60 one bit," he said. "I knew it was coming." At the December meeting of council, when O'Brien's letter of resignation was read, many coun cillors expressed mixed emotions at the idea of losing their longi time chief. However, if he's not abroad of on his bike, O'Brien said he wit still be around, just not in an of ficial capacity. "Not having that pager on m).. belt is a nice feeling," he said. He's saved lives, had his ow ` saved, fought fires and mad men out of boys. After 38 years O'Brien is ready to step down. `You look around (the firs hall) and think, I'm the oldei thing here," he joked. "A lot the people taking up the bott rr end were not even born when started." A ceremony was held Mt O'Brien Jan. 6 at the fire hall where he was presented with his_; helmet - which will be.hung Lit for good as he hits the road on new chapter in life. Though the helmet will b4` hung up, firefighting will alwa be a huge part of O'Brien, ant looking at his history in town O'Brien will always be a hug, part of Goderich firefighting. Huron police officer stable after early morning collisio A Huron OPP officerinvolved in Sunday's single vehicle collision re- mains in stable condition at a Lon- don hospital with non -life threaten - nig injuries. PC Adam Martin was involved in a single vehicle colli- sion on Bluewater Highway south of Goderich on Jan. 4 shortly before 7a.m. PC Martin was on duty at the time of the collision and was oper- ating perating an OPP cruiser. No further information is avail- able at this time regarding the cause of the collision and the investiga- tion remains ongoing. FESTIVE SEASON WRAPS UP The festive season ,has come to a close and the results in Huron County were pretty positive, ac- cording to OPP. In total, more than 28,000 vehicles were checked in Huron County RIDE checkpoints, including the dozen checkpoints set up from New Year's Eve through the weekend. In total, nine impaired drivers were charged in Huron County during the Festive RIDE season. Another 20 had their licenc- es suspended for 12 hours due to their level of alcohol consumption. Again, during the Festive RIDE season, Huron OPP investigated 12 A 'v a t S I • it • • collisions involving personal injury and another 141 where only prop- erty was damaged. Although the OPP responded to numerous colli- sions in the .first four days of 2009 in Huron County, they reported no life threatening injuries or fatalities. Huron OPP Detachment Com- mander Dan Grant `reminds mo- torists that winter is far from over and road conditions will continue . to pose challenges for many more weeks. He urges motorists to re- member that conditions in this county change very rapidly and drivers need to remain fully focused on the task of driving: IMPAIRED DRIVER NABBED BY OFF-DUTY OFFICER On Jan.1, at approximately 7:45 p.m. a complainant observed a red van being operated in the Patil Bu- nyan Trailer Park in BlueVvater. The van backed onto the complainant's property and struck their cable box. The van then returned to the road- way, traveled east approximately 10 metres and came to a stop in a driveway. - T The complainant, an off-duty. police officer, went to the vehicle and observed the male driver, who he determined was impaired by alp ♦ cohol, and arrested him. The com- plainant then contacted Huron OPP officers. The male was transported to the Huron . Detachment where he was taken before a qualified breatha- lyzer technician to provide two samples of his breath. The driver provided two breath samples and the results were over three times above the legal limit of 80 milli- grams of alcohol. The 56 -year-old resident of Bluewater was charged F„) with one count of Impaired Driving and one count of Drive With Over 80 Milligrams of Alcohol. He will answer to his charges in Goderich Court on March 9. SNOWMOBILER LOCATED AFTER INCIDENT On Jan. 3, at approximately 3:15 p.m., a Huron OPP officer was on general patrol in Bayfield. As the officer turned a comer, his cruiser was nearly struck by a snowmobile carrying two adult males, neither of es targe Huron County Crime Stoppers and the Huron County OPP are asking for ,,your assistance in solving the following break, en rtd theft:ORCISTeneeil etweeit 6 p.m, a, whom was weaning a helmet. Wh signaled to stop, the males left _ area. After lengthy investigation, officer located the snowmobile, d termined the owner and charged driver of the sled. As a result, a 33 -year-old Blue water man was charged under Motorized Snow Vehicles Act wi Drive Motorized Snow Vehicle No Valid Permit, Drive Motorizes( Snow Vehicle with No Insuran and Fail to Wear Proper Helmet. r { generator worth $1,500 black Powertek 7500E gas- powered generator. The val- ue of this theft is $1,500. If you have any other in- formation regarding this crime, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-11PS. You will never have to reveal your name or go to court and you or a cash re- 4�. a . x ye s-. ake the 4