Vancouver Fire Chief Joe Molina is retiring from his post after steering the department through a tumultuous decade, one that saw gutting Recession-era cutbacks, a slow recovery and major changes in how firefighters do their jobs.
Well, technically he’s retiring. He announced his retirement a year ago, and he won’t actually leave his post for another four months. But still — retirement is imminent. Now he just needs to figure out what to do with himself after he passes the (safely) lit torch to his successor.
“I think I’m going to try to see what not working looks like. I’ve been working since I was 16,” Molina said, sitting in his office at Fire Station 5 on Friday. “It’ll be interesting to see how much of this job is part of me.”
The space is decorated with memorabilia from his 28-year career.