Retiring fire chief prepares for next chapter in life

WEST BLOOMFIELD — After 28 years with the West Bloomfield Fire Department, including 11 years as chief, Greg Flynn is retiring from his five-battalion post in late June.

Although he is far from the typical retirement age for public safety, which is around 60, he said he meets all the collective bargaining requirements to retire with his pension.  

“The community has been very good to me,” Flynn said. “And there is a point at which public safety professionals reach a spot where the finish line becomes very bright and very apparent to them, and that’s the spot I am at right now. I am very grateful for the time and the opportunity to serve in West Bloomfield.” 

He is now looking forward to the new opportunities before him.

“I have had over my career the wonderful opportunity to engage with public safety professionals — locally, across the state, and on a national basis as an educator, trainer, facilitator (and) instructor — and I’ll continue to do that. I look forward to being at the National Fire Academy more often,” Flynn said.

The National Fire Academy is in Emmitsburg, Md., and is the premier school for fire service executive development, according to the chief. It attracts firefighters and fire executives from all over the country, who attend multi-day programs. The classes are during the day, and those attending reside on campus at night. 

Flynn also plans to consult others, utilizing the knowledge base he has built for nearly 30 years in West Bloomfield, sharing his insight with other communities. 

Debbie Binder, a West Bloomfield board trustee and the township clerk, said she has enjoyed working with Flynn throughout the years. 

“Chief Flynn is a solid model of professionalism and process, who also brings a great sense of humor,” Binder said. “I am proud of the legacy he has created with and for the West Bloomfield Fire Department. Many of the tools he implemented transcend future fire operations. … I am pleased to know Chief Flynn will continue his impact on the fire service in a different but widespread capacity.”

Recently, Flynn and his wife returned from Italy. In retirement, he plans to travel more.

“There is a lot more of the world to see, and I am very much looking forward to that,” Flynn said. “So, I think that’s why my wife is going to make sure that I have another job after this, so we can continue to take those fun trips and see all that the world has to offer.”

Among his proudest achievements in his 28 years with the department is building connections with the community. He said the calls that were most memorable were not the calls of an urgent nature, but rather when he had an opportunity to sit down and get to know the residents of West Bloomfield. 

He noted that fire chiefs have a unique opportunity to interact with residents, officials, business owners and civic groups. He said those relationships are what he will miss most.

Flynn has spent his life in Michigan. He was born in Flint, grew up in Clio, and moved to Clarkston as a kid, after his dad received a promotion for a job in Troy. It was at Clarkston High where the future chief started his fire service career as a volunteer dispatcher at Goodrich, a volunteer ambulance company north of Ortonville in Genesee County. 

The chief chuckled, noting his dispatcher experience was nothing like the professional dispatchers in West Bloomfield.

“They let me answer the phones on occasion,” he said. 

After graduating from school, he joined the Independence Township Fire Department as a part-time on-call firefighter for a short time before joining the West Bloomfield Fire Department, in a career full-time position where he has been since. 

Flynn earned an associate’s degree from Oakland Community College in emergency services and then a bachelor’s degree in public safety from Sienna Heights University while working as a firefighter. In 2023, he graduated with a master’s in security studies from the Naval Post Graduate School at the Center for Homeland Defense and Security in Monterey, Calif. 

Flynn credits his success to his parents and growing up the youngest of six kids.

“I listen to understand. My mother and father — who plan on being at my retirement — have really shaped that ability (in me) to listen to others and have an understanding,” Flynn said. “I think growing up in a big family like that translates well into the communal living that takes place in a fire station.”

Flynn also values the role of government and being a good steward of tax dollars.

 “(It’s about) leveraging the value out of those dollars to ensure that we’re on mission and meeting the expectation of the residents,” he said.

To stay on mission, Flynn asks, “Are we doing what’s right for the taxpayers, for the residents of our community, so that they trust us and believe in us to make the right decisions for their worst day?”

The fire service has changed over the year, bringing with it new challenges. When Flynn started out as a firefighter-paramedic, he never thought he would have to purchase ballistic vests, helmets and other protective gear as standard equipment on all fire department vehicles. The scope of the job for firefighters and all first responders has changed.  

“That social component of active violence within our communities was demonstrated recently with the attack on Temple Israel,” Flynn said. “This is the reality of what our first responders in all the disciplines face, from dispatch, EMS and fire to law enforcement. The depth of knowledge they must have (has increased) to respond to these incidents.”

West Bloomfield Township Supervisor Jonathan Warshay commended Flynn for his professionalism and leadership.

“Under his leadership, the West Bloomfield Fire Department has provided the highest level of service to our residents. He has encouraged the entire department to pursue training and educational opportunities, so they continue to grow in their careers,” Warshay said. “He is fair and honest and will be missed. He leaves the department in good hands.”

As the current fire chief prepares to pass the baton to his successor, Deputy Fire Chief Mark Lawry, Flynn shared his hopes for the new chief. 

“(I hope) for Mark to continue the mission of the WBFD with compassionate and connected leadership with the team,” Flynn said. “The fire chief is in a unique spot, where you are ultimately responsible for everything at the fire department. The team is deep with talent — they have so much to offer — and (we need) to continue to mentor and grow that team for the overall sustainability of the WBFD.”

Flynn also shared what he would like for the firefighters.

“Remember that day you got the call that said you are a member of the WBFD, and we want you, and we’re glad that you chose us as the place you want to work and have a career,” Flynn said. “Do everything you can to preserve that feeling throughout your career, because it has truly been a privilege and an honor to be a member of the WBFD and to retire from the WBFD.”