Municipality of Port Hope Fire and Rescue Service District Chief Glenn Case was recognized for his 45-years of service upon his retirement on Tuesday, March 21, 2023 at Port Hope Council.
While members of the fire service stood outside town hall, Case was brought to the town hall in the aerial truck along with members of his family.
Case said he was “overwhelmed” at the response by the fire service.
One by one Case shook the hand of every firefighter lining both sides of the sidewalk in front of the town hall.
“Thanks guys so much. This is pretty overwhelming,” said Case as he walked by the firefighters and was greeted by members of Port Hope Council before entering town hall.
Case was hired as a volunteer firefighter on March 1, 1978 and was promoted to training captain in the 1980’s. He was promoted to District Chief in charge of training in 2001 and then went on to be the District Chief of training for the entire municipality in 2004. In 2007 Case was promoted to District Chief of Station 1.
“With strong leadership and a steady mind Glenn has been a huge asset to Port Hope,” said Mayor Olena Hankivsky.
“Thank you for your service to the residents of Port Hope and on behalf of all of us we wish you all the very best in the future.”
Director of Protection Services Jason Williams presented Case with certificates from the Office of the Fire Marshal of Ontario Jon Pegg and a certificate from the Municipality of Port Hope
After the ceremony Case spoke with Today’s Northumberland about his career.
“It’s been a long haul.”
But Case said it was something he wanted to do to give back to the community.
“I started as a volunteer fireman. You wanted to do it because you were a member of the community. You’re doing it because you want to do it. It’s not a pay cheque.”
Case said with every call you never know what it will be or which firefighters will be attending with you – so you have to trust each one with your life.
“As compared to a career department you’re very comfortable with your crew or platoon and you know their capabilities. Whereas with this, you have to have a universal understanding on how to respond to things.”
Over the years, Case said there has been a lot of interrupted dinners, walk up in the middle of the night or early morning, along with weekends. There are fires that take you away from your family on a moments notices for sometimes up to 12-hours.
Over the years the calls that stand out the most are the two major fires on the main street and the flood.
“I’ll miss the guys. They say, I’m going to miss the clowns, but I don’t miss the circus.”
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
