Third Time's the Charm for Retiring Brighton Fire Chief Larry Lane

Not many people can say they've retired from their profession three times, but Brighton Area Fire Authority Chief Larry Lane is one of them.

Lane originally retired as chief from the Westland Fire Department to become Brighton's fire chief in 1995. During the next 10 years, Lane helped to create the (BAFA) — only the fourth in the state at the time — before he retired again in 2005.

He was called back in April 2009 to assist the department through some difficulties, including the forced resignation of Chief Marty DeLoach, who was dismissed by BAFA board members in March 2009 after allegations of arrogant leadership, poor communications and low morale within the department.

DeLoach went on to file a grievance against the authority, charging that he was illegally fired, but the case was settled out of court with a mutual separation agreement in May 2009.

Lane's return was supposed to last only three to six months.

"Two of the (BAFA) board members called and asked me to come back and help them through the troubled times," Lane said. "Because as a group, we had done a pretty good job of running things up until I retired. There were 57 of us that put the fire authority together. It was working very well. After that, I figured it was kind of like my baby. It was a situation where I felt obligated to come back and help out."

Lane will pass the mantle of fire chief to current Fire Marshal Mike O'Brian during the BAFA 2012 awards ceremony Friday night.

"There's no doubt that Larry brings some laughter on the job, and it's a pretty serious job most the time," O'Brian said. "We face a lot of unique things and challenges, so we're going to miss that.

"On a more professional note, Larry's been doing this a long time, and I really respect the things that he has to say about how to handle certain situations," he said. "There's a lot of respect his way because he's been such a good caretaker of the organization."

O'Brian said he plans to continue to build on the foundation that Lane is leaving behind.

One thing the authority is working on is checking 1,000 homes to make sure they are equipped with working smoke alarms, according to O'Brian.

"We're doing that through various campaigns and going door-to-door and just checking," he said. "Year-to-date, we've already found nine homes without working smoke alarms."

O'Brian also said the authority is working on continual training in order to make sure everybody is on the same page operationally.

After O'Brian assumes the chief position, BAFA will not fill the fire marshal position immediately. Instead, the two current fire inspectors will split the fire marshal duties, and BAFA will begin to fill the position of deputy chief, he said.

O'Brian said the authority has taken applications and will schedule interviews within the coming weeks. He said he hopes to have a recommendation to the BAFA board by March.

Brighton Mayor Jim Muzzin, who is also the chair of the BAFA board, said that the board hopes to have the deputy chief position filled by midyear.

Muzzin agreed that Lane will be missed but said the authority will be in good hands with O'Brian.

Lane said that though he will really miss the firefighters and administrative staff he worked with, he hopes this third retirement sticks.

Lane and his wife will return to the small town of Glennie, about 28 miles northwest of Oscoda, where they both have family. Lane said he will be doing some fire service consulting work for Plante Moran, among other things.

"My wife's got a whole list of projects for me to do, so I'll keep busy," Lane said.