Fifth-generation firefighter retires after 26 years at Grand Forks Fire Department
Jun. 22—GRAND FORKS — Fighting fires is something of a family tradition for recently retired Grand Forks Fire Deputy Chief Bruce Weymier, whose firefighting lineage can be traced to the days when fire engines were drawn by horse.
"I am the fifth-generation firefighter in my family," Weymier told the Herald. "My great, great, great grandfather and uncle were both on the Milwaukee Fire Department."
Weymier recently retired after working more than 30 years in the field, 26 with the Grand Forks Fire Department. In the week since the department announced his retirement on Facebook, the post has garnered hundreds of social media reactions.
Firefighters are always in the public eye, he said, whether they're dispatched to a medical emergency, false alarm or animal rescue. They also attend community events.
"Dealing with the public, I think, was the best part of my job," Weymier said. "You go to a block party, and as soon as the fire department shows up, you see every kid who wants to go running toward the fire truck. You see parents and kids light up every time we show up. We're there on the good days, and we're there on the worst days."
Everybody loves a firefighter, he said.
Coming from such a long line of them, including his father and grandfather, Weymier always knew he would be involved in the field, though he originally anticipated his contribution would be volunteer-based.
Weymier volunteered at Emerado's fire department while he served in the Air Force as an aircraft mechanic, a position he held for eight years after he graduated high school.
"I thought I was going to be a lifer in the military, until the opportunity came up for (a firefighting position 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 present for his children. Weymier worked as a firefighter paramedic in Milwaukee for a few years, then decided to relocate to Grand Forks, seeking a better place to raise his growing family.
Weymier worked as an Altru paramedic from the mid-1990s until 2019, with an overlapping period of five years that he also worked as a critical care paramedic for North Memorial Aircare in Bemidji. Two years after starting his Altru position, Weymier joined the Grand Forks Fire Department. He didn't have a lot of free time, he said.
Throughout his 26 years at the fire department, Weymier was promoted five times. He originally worked as a firefighter, then moved up to firefighter 2 (now referred to as senior firefighter.) His next promotion, to fire apparatus specialist, wasn't his favorite position — during that time, a specialist's role was exclusively related to driving a vehicle and maintaining its operations.
"I wanted to go into the fires, so I promoted to captain at the earliest opportunity," Weymier said. "I hate to say it, but it was fun. It was boring just driving, because you didn't really know what was going on. It's an important position — because you have to get to the scene safely, you have to know the streets, you have to know that — but I didn't like to just sit in the truck while everybody else did stuff."
After achieving captain, Weymier was promoted to battalion chief and finally deputy chief, the position he held for two years leading to his retirement. In that role, he worked directly under Chief Gary Lorenz and alongside Deputy Chief Chad Cutshaw.
Weymier and Cutshaw oversaw more than 75 employees.
It's hard to leave, Weymier said.
"I'm going to miss everybody," he said. "You become accustomed to seeing everybody; they become a second family."
However, a sixth generation remains at Grand Forks Fire Department. Kelsey Weymier, Bruce Weymier's daughter, is a fire apparatus specialist.
Though things will slow down for Weymier, he'll still be pretty busy, he said. He's working in Bemidji, restoring WWII airplanes for private owners as well as museums.
"The people who know me know that I can't sit still," he said.
