TOLEDO, Ohio — Six Toledo firefighters retired this past week. Combined, they have given 192 years of service to the Toledo Fire & Rescue Department.
For Greg Yingling, TFRD Station 5 in downtown Toledo has been home for 33 years.
"The last 33 years have been the best 33 years of my life," the former TFRD Lieutenant of Operations said of his time at what he calls "the big house."
"He got stuck with a lot of relatively young people when we first got here and he had to control and corral all of us," Lt. Thomas Bartley said of Yingling. "He always liked to say working with us or being our officer was like herding cats."
Yingling was one of the six who hung up their helmets for the last time this week.
"The only way people leave the station like this, is if they get promoted because they like working here so much," said Bartley.
As the veterans walk out the door, a class of 53 graduates will join the TFRD family in December.
And it's a tight-knit family, Yingling said.
"Come back to the station after something bad and you had your brothers and sisters there with you, and that was the most important thing about this house, so it'll always be home," he said.
But just because he's retiring doesn't mean Yingling won't be working. He'll be transitioning into his role as a full-time grandfather, he said.
"Apparently, I'm going to be doing an awful lot of babysitting here soon since I'm free and available," he said. "I haven't changed a diaper in 33 years but I'm about to get a lesson again."
Although Yingling will be fighting dirty diapers instead of fires, his home away from home will always hold a special place in his heart.
"It's the big house and I'll always miss the big house," he said.