VIDEO: Captain Raymond Coci with Toledo Fire and Rescue went on his last call Thursday morning, leading crews to the intersection of Locust and East Bancroft streets for a fire at a duplex, less than two hours before his scheduled retirement. "Well, I was the first officer to arrive, so I had to take command, so I didn't get to go in immediately but as soon as the chief got here and took command I got to go in and do a little bit of firefighting," Coci said.
Coci's fellow firefighters aren't surprised he was working until the last minutes of his 34-year career.
He has bounced back from injuries in the past and finished his career as captain at "one of the busiest engine houses in the city," Station 7 on the corner of Bancroft Street and Franklin Avenue in central Toledo, TFD Pvt. Sterling Rahe said.
Veterans with the TFD can't remember the last time a crew member retired while on the scene of a fire, which Rahe said "is a storybook ending."