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Former Central York fire chief John Molyneaux hung up his firefighter helmet Dec 1 Chief goes out in blaze of glory Story by Teresa Latchford Cover photography by Mike Barrett Retirement will take a little getting used to for former Central York fire chief John Molyneaux Last week he was standing in his kitchen making his morning coffee with a TV on for background noise The morning news featured a report of an apart ment fire in Aurora Moving to the living room to see the news report he immedi ately wondered why he didnt get a phone call before realizing his name and number is no longer at the top of the Central York Fire Ser vices emergency phone tree It is the first time in 35 years 1 didnt get that phone call he said sitting comfortably in his tan living room chair It really was a 24hour job so it will take me some time to get used to not being on the job He just returned from a trip to Las Vegas one of his favourite des tinations It was his first trip after his last day at the local fire hall Dec 31 Although he hasnt decided with what he fill his time he is taking time just to gather his thoughts Im not one to just sit around he smiled Im sure Ill find some thing to fill my days For now the former fire chief is enjoying the time to reflect on more than three decades of service His fascination with firefighting started when he was about seven years old and he went to a fire on Main Street where Road House and Rose now operates with his father In those days a series of whistle blows called on tnscomrn unity for help He was serving as a civilian vol unteer with the Ontario Provincial Police when he became a volunteer firefighter with the former Newmar ket Fire Department He was shown the ropes by those who had been in the department for many years We had practice every Monday night where the older firefighters taught us the dangers and how to be safe he said One of the first calls to which he responded was just south of Bradford where a pickle factory was in flames Upon arrival Mr Molyneaux learned a firefighter had fallen through the floor and had to be rescued We did get him out and it wasnt as bad as I thought he said Fbr a brief minute I thought what had I got myself into In his 35 years of service the adrenaline always pumped when going on a call He never had trou ble dealing with everything fire fighters witness because most of the time people were happy to see them arrive I always thought we make the JOHN MOLYNEAUX FINISHES OUR SENTENCES The best flavour of ice cream is vanilla Im a pretty boring guy If stranded on a deserted island I couldnt live without food water and my iPhone The place I frequent most in New market is Cousins Deli I really like their breakfast My favourite movie is well my wife would say Im addicted to National Lampoons Christmas Vacation I watch it about four times a year and every time I do I see something I hadnt before My guilty pleasure standing on the steps of Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on a Saturday night just watching people walk up the stairs best of a miserable day for people he said There were awards handed out from time to time but I always fig ured I was just doing my job One of the greatest accomplish ments of his career was spearhead ing the 2001 amalgamation of the Newmarket and Aurora fire depart ments to create Central York Fire Services He was disappointed when the region decided not to amalgamate all nine fire services because it has worked so well for these two communities Newmarket Councillor Chris Emanuel said he was honoured to serve as chairperson of the Cen tral York Fire Services joint council committee with Mr Molyneaux at the helm as fire chief As far as he is concerned the community is a bet ter place because of the dedication and contributions the former chief made to the two communities Although there is much praise when community members and coworkers speak of Mr Moly he always remained humble and down to Earth Mr Emanuel added I always knew he was giving me the straight goods He never sugar- coated anything Mr Emanuel laughed If he had any bias it was that he was always doing what he thought was in the best interest of the community He has left a legacy as the first fire chief with Central York Fire Ser vices an amalgamation in which he played a major role He also befriended many and leaves behind some big shoes to fill Mr Emanuel added We are a rare example of how collaboration can yield great results for our communities and we owe a great deal of that to Johns leader ship he said The large crowd that showed for his retirement celebra tion just demonstrated how many lives he has personally touched One of those lives was that of Aurora Councillor AI Wilson who served as vicechairperson of the committee and was instantly impressed him with Mr Moly- neauxs professionalism and relaxed manner Even through difficult challeng es he always remained focused on the task at hand to ensure the job was done Mr Wilson said His commitment as a career firefighter and his vision to ensure the safety and security of our communities was always a priority Mr Molyneaux is also a dedi cated volunteer with the St John Ambulance board and served on the Ontario 911 advisory board making service provider technology work with the emergency service He plans to continue serving the community but admits he wouldnt mind delivering cars to dealerships like his fatherinlaw TIRE 17750 St Newmarket 9058951415 SERVICE HOURS MonFn 7309 Sat 7306 Sun 95 CAN ADAS TIRE EXPERTS Off our regular price of Goodyear Allegra tires while quantities last Sony no Instated balanced Buy ONE Touring AWH Total Terrarn J regular price and get the 2nd identical tire for 12 Price Installed balanced edra General Aftimax Arctic or total terrain winter tires Instated balanced extra