Fifth-generation firefighter retires after 26 years with Grand Forks Fire Department – Grand Forks Herald

GRAND FORKS — Firefighting is something of a family tradition for recently retired Grand Forks Deputy Fire Chief Bruce Weymier, whose firefighting lineage dates back to the days when fire trucks were pulled by horses.

“I’m the fifth generation firefighter in my family,” Weymier told the Herald. “My great-great-great-grandfather and my uncle were both in the Milwaukee Fire Department.”

Weymier recently retired after working in the field for more than 30 years, including 26 with the Grand Forks Fire Department. In the week following his retirement announcement on Facebook, the post sparked hundreds of reactions on social media.

Firefighters are always in the public eye, he said, whether they are dispatched to medical emergencies, false alarms or animal rescues. They also participate in community events.

“I think dealing with the public was the best part of my job,” Weymier said. “You go to a block party, and as soon as the firefighters show up, you see all the kids wanting to run to the fire truck. You see the parents and kids light up every time we show up. We're there on the good days, and we are there on the worst days.”

Everyone loves a firefighter, he said.

Coming from such a long lineage, including his father and grandfather, Weymier always knew he would get involved in the field, even though he initially planned his contribution would be volunteer-based.

Weymier volunteered with the Emerado Fire Department while serving in the Air Force as an aviation mechanic, a position he held for eight years after graduating from college secondary.

“I thought I was going to get a life sentence in the military, until an opportunity came up for (a firefighting job in) Milwaukee, and then I jumped at it,” Weymier said. “I had three children and a wife. I left for Saudi Arabia when my daughter was two months old, and I came back and she was walking and talking.”

He loved serving in the military, but he wanted to be there for his children. Weymier worked as a firefighter paramedic in Milwaukee for a few years, then decided to move to Grand Forks, looking for a better place to raise his growing family.

Weymier worked as a paramedic at Altru from the mid-1990s until 2019, with a five-year overlapping period during which he also worked as a critical care paramedic for North Memorial Aircare in Bemidji. Two years after starting his position at Altru, Weymier joined the Grand Forks Fire Department. He didn't have much free time, he said.

During his 26 years with the fire department, Weymier was promoted five times. He first worked as a firefighter, then moved to firefighter 2 (now called senior firefighter). His next promotion, to Fire Apparatus Specialist, was not his favorite position – at that time the role of a specialist was exclusively related to driving. a vehicle and maintain its operations.

“I wanted to go into the fires, so I got promoted to captain as soon as possible,” Weymier said. “I hate to say it, but it was fun. It was boring driving, because you didn't really know what was going on. It's a big job – because you have to get to the scene in “You have to know the streets, you have to know that – but I didn't like sitting in the truck while everyone else was doing stuff.”

After being named captain, Weymier was promoted to battalion chief and then deputy chief, a position he held for two years before retiring. In this role, he worked directly under Chief Gary Lorenz and alongside Deputy Chief Chad Cutshaw.

Weymier and Cutshaw supervised more than 75 employees.

It's hard to leave, Weymier said.

“I’m going to miss everyone,” he said. “You get used to seeing everyone; they become a second family.”

However, there remains a sixth generation in the Grand Forks Fire Department. Kelsey Weymier, Bruce Weymier's daughter, is a fire apparatus specialist.

Even though things will slow down for Weymier, he will still be very busy, he said. He works in Bemidji, restoring World War II aircraft for private owners as well as museums.

“People who know me know I can’t sit still,” he said.