TOLEDO, Ohio — Brian Byrd was sworn in as chief of Toledo Fire and Rescue in 2018. He first joined the ranks in 1988.
"It's bittersweet. The 34 years went fast," Byrd said about his upcoming retirement.
In all that time as a firefighter, he says his greatest challenge didn't come until just about two years ago: the pandemic and then staffing shortages.
"It was tough for the whole department for a while because we had to brown-out stations," he explained. "We actually had to shut down rigs and I don't know the last time, at least in my 34 years on the job, that we've had to do that because of staffing."
However, he says those challenges also led to the most rewarding moments of his career. "Even with all that, we never failed to respond. There wasn't an incident that we missed," Byrd said, "even with all of those things going on. "
While he'll retire from his career as a firefighter at the end of the week, his work as a public servant won't end.
Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz has tapped Byrd as head of the new Department of Public Safety. It's a role he says he can't give many details about just yet, but it's one he's looking forward to.
"There's a lot of layers to this onion. There's not really one specific thing you can think of that you need to do to address this," Byrd said. "There are historical and systemic issues. There's accountability issues. We really got to look at the onion, twist it around and figure out which layers we gotta pull back first."
Byrd says it will be hard not being with the fire department any longer, but he wants his ranks to know that he appreciates them and understands their struggles. He wants them to stay safe and hold onto what he calls his biggest career takeaway: the fragility of life.
"Appreciate the people who are around you, your loved ones," Byrd said. "Because you never know which your next second is going to be."
