Fire Chief Allyn Wright said what he’ll miss most is being looked up to as a leader when he retires from his position on January 4.
A native son of New Haven, Wright has been chief for a year and eight months, entering his tenure with goals of fixing a department from the ground up.
“Like flipping a house,” he said. “I wanted to flip the department.”
Wright said he accomplished or got the ball rolling on many of the goals he had when he took the position in March 2014: minimizing overtime, hiring new personnel and beginning to fix the antiquated fire stations. Still, the burden of balancing an entire department on his shoulders coupled with a job opportunity was too much for Wright to pass up.
Wright said Wednesday that he’s “a little tired” and ready to slow down and spend more time with his family. A job offer to be a private investigator for Intelligence Options LLC gave him the out he needed. Wright previously worked for Intelligence Options LLC—though it had a different name then—from 2007 to 2014.
Wright, who grew up in Newhallville and attended James Hillhouse High School, first joined the New Haven Fire Department in 1975, becoming assistant chief in 1998 before resigning in 2000 to help run a telecommunications company. Wright returned in 2014 and was appointed to replace former Chief Michael Grant, whose contract was set to expire. He was sworn in on March 31, 2014.