GREENFIELD TOWNSHIP, Ohio — A 70-year-old fire chief is retiring after 58 years on the job.
Lancaster Eagle-Gazette reported that Greenfield Township Fire Chief Terry Morris Sr. first became a fire cadet at the age of 12.
“Our turnout gear was just rubber rain boots and rain coats,” Chief Morris said. “We had an oxygen bottle and a first aid kit; that’s it.”
Morris said he knew he wanted to be a firefighter when he worked beside his father at Brookside’s station. He joined the cadet program when he became eligible and has since worked in every capacity at fire departments across Ohio.
Morris went into the Navy in the 1960s and came back to Ohio to begin working as a firefighter from 1968 to 1986. When he left, he was later an EMS captain. Greenfield Township hired Morris on part time for a year until the department became full-time in 2000. He became the department’s first full-time chief, which was one of his lifelong goals.
“It’s time for me to go,” Chief Morris said. “If it’s 2 or 3 (in the morning) and we’ve got a big crash, somebody needs to go there and take command of the scene. At 70 years old, that gets hard to do.”
Chief Morris said his growing family of three children and 10 grandchildren will keep him busy during retirement, but he’ll miss his team of firefighters.
“They’re just a different kind of people,” he said. “They’re all giving — they’re family. I couldn’t do this job without the guys here. It’s been a good long ride. I’ve enjoyed almost every minute of it.”
Morris will retire in June after the department finds a new chief to replace him.