TOLEDO, Ohio — Captain Raymond Coci with Toledo Fire and Rescue went on his last call Thursday morning, leading crews to the intersection of Locust and East Bancroft streets for a fire at a duplex, less than two hours before his scheduled retirement.
"Well, I was the first officer to arrive, so I had to take command, so I didn't get to go in immediately but as soon as the chief got here and took command I got to go in and do a little bit of firefighting," Coci said.
Coci's fellow firefighters aren't surprised he was working until the last minutes of his 34-year career.
He has bounced back from injuries in the past and finished his career as captain at "one of the busiest engine houses in the city," Station 7 on the corner of Bancroft Street and Franklin Avenue in central Toledo, TFD Pvt. Sterling Rahe said.
Veterans with the TFD can't remember the last time a crew member retired while on the scene of a fire, which Rahe said "is a storybook ending."
"Ray's been busy his whole career. And he's finishing busy," Rahe said.
Coci is looking forward to spending time with family and getting back into fishing with the spare time he will have now.
But his years at TFD will always hold a special place in his heart.
"When you're working here long enough, you're going to see people do stuff that's really special. So those are things that you know you're kind of going to miss," he said.