Retiring NC Fire Chief Reflects On Four Decades

Jan. 25—GREENSBORO, NC — Greensboro Fire Chief Bobby Nugent didn't grow up in a family full of firefighters and dream of the day that he, too, would join the fire service.

Newly married at 18, Nugent went searching for a job, knowing he had to find a way to provide for his family.

"I was thinking — do I go back to school? What do I want to do with my life?"

When his father told him the fire department might be hiring, he decided to give it a try.

It was on a whim and out of necessity that he applied for the job.

But born from that necessity was a lifelong career, one that carried Nugent through every single rank of the department and kept him coming to work even 12 years after he could have retired.

"I love this department. That's obvious after 42 years," he said. "I didn't mean to stay that long, but it just happened."

After more than four decades, Nugent's last official day with the Greensboro Fire Department is Jan. 31.

The well-earned retirement comes after four years as chief, a role that gave him the opportunity to leave a lasting mark on the department.

But the fire stations he's been able to replace, the new training facilities erected and the drone program he started aren't what he's most proud of having accomplished as chief. It isn't the fact that he managed to check off every single goal on the strategic plan he put together after becoming chief either.

Instead, Nugent said the staff he promoted and hired are his greatest legacy.

As a result of retirements around the time that he was appointed chief, Nugent replaced about 60% of the command staff within his first year on the job.

"I was proud of the people I chose and the opportunity to put people in good spots to help lead the department forward."

The promotions also afforded him the opportunity to leave behind a crew he's confident will keep the fire department heading in the right direction. Upon Nugent's retirement, Deputy Chief Jim Robinson will take over as chief. Nugent said he promoted Robinson to assistant chief and then to deputy chief. They and the rest of the command staff worked closely with one another over the last few years.

"All the things we've done since I've been chief — they've had a huge part in what's been done. It's really going to be seamless for the transition."

Rising through the ranks

Nugent was turned down the first time he applied for a position at the Greensboro Fire Department. That wasn't unusual, Nugent said, due to the high number of applicants. He reapplied at the next opportunity and was hired in 1979 at the age of 20. It was the second class to include female firefighters.

Nugent jokes that he couldn't spell "fire" when he was hired, but despite not having any previous exposure to the fire service, it seemed to be a natural fit.

"I got in there and liked it. Things kind of clicked for me."

On Aug. 12, 1979, his first day out of recruit school, Nugent went on his first call.

"We had a tractor-trailer overturn out on (Interstate) 40," Nugent said. "I remember my wife was coming to visit me at the station that day because you could have visitors on Sunday afternoon."

But instead, Nugent spent the afternoon on a blocked I-40 after a tobacco-hauling tractor-trailer jackknifed and overturned.

"I've got a picture from the newspaper," Nugent said. In the photo, which was featured in the News & Record, firefighters surround the scene of the overturned tractor-trailer.

Nugent said it would have been hard to tell it was him in the photograph, but one thing makes him identifiable — he's the one wearing the "cleanest and prettiest" turnout gear.

"You could tell — that's a new guy right there."

As the years passed, Nugent rose through the ranks of the department. Certain jobs he favored more than others, one of his favorites was being a driver, or what is commonly referred to in the fire service as an engineer.

"That was a good feeling because you were responsible for that piece of apparatus. If it looked good, it was your responsibility. If it looked bad, well, it was your responsibility."

He said he also enjoyed the battalion chief rank, with about 40 to 45 people he was responsible for influencing and mentoring. But the pinnacle, Nugent said, is the fire chief's job.

"I love doing it because you can really have an impact," he said. "We're a department of 584 people. We're the third largest department in the state of North Carolina. The things you say and do and the decisions you make really impact a huge amount of people."

If Nugent has one piece of advice for the up and coming firefighters, it's to take advantage of every opportunity to learn and gain new skills.

"When I was young in the department, I went to everything," Nugent said. Any class, training or certification offered to Nugent, he took.

He earned his associates degree in fire protection technology through GTCC, then his bachelors through John Wesley College. He became certified as an executive fire officer through a four-year program at the National Fire Academy.

He never wanted people to look at his resume and see that he stopped progressing.

"I always wanted to be on that (uphill) trajectory, to show I'm always constantly learning and trying to get better.

"I try to relay that to my young firefighters. You don't have to climb fast, but always be able to show when you put your resume together that you're consistently trying to learn and better yourself. It shows."

'The ones you think about'

The department seemed to grow with Nugent through the decades.

During his 42 years, he saw the staff grow from 250 to nearly 600 under his leadership. He was there for the implementation of new technology, including a new state-of-the-art station alerting system, for which he led the purchase and installation. He's watched as Greensboro — where he attended elementary, middle and high school — grew with new roads, businesses and people.

Nugent has also witnessed a side of the city that some will never see — fires and wrecks and tragedies, some that he can't seem to shake from his memory.

"Riding calls where infants are involved," Nugent said. "There were several times I had to do CPR on infants. Those always stick in your mind, especially when you've got small kids of your own."

The apartment fire on Summit Avenue that claimed the lives of five children shortly after Nugent was appointed chief in 2017 is another incident that he said is impossible to forget.

"Those are the ones you think about," he said.

Nugent was there in 1985 when a massive fire on Davie Street burned down an entire block. He's seen tanker fires, plane crashes, hurricanes, tornadoes and floods, but he's also been there to see those incidents dwindle in numbers.

"We don't have huge fires like those anymore. I think through fire codes and public education, things have gotten a little bit better."

Most recently, Nugent has been in charge of leading the department through the COVID-19 pandemic, a task he never anticipated taking on when he became chief, but he's proud of the job they've done.

"We have a very aggressive infectious control policy throughout the department," Nugent said. He said he believes the few positive COVID-19 cases they've had internally were not the result of people on calls.

Through the challenges, Nugent counts himself lucky to have had the support of not only the city, but the community.

"They have always supported the fire department," Nugent said. In turn, the department does the same.

"We know that when you see us it's usually one of the worst days of your life. We try to treat you better and take care of you and do the best that we can."

What lies ahead?

Enduring the COVID-19 pandemic would likely be reason enough for most people to take advantage of retirement, but Nugent said the events of the past year didn't influence his decision to move on to the next phase of his life.

"I'd considered retiring last year before all of this happened anyway," Nugent said. "But then I was able to get approval to build the fire stations."

Although the replacement of the city's two oldest fire stations won't be complete by his retirement, he said he feels like he's accomplished his goal, knowing he's turning the nearly complete projects over to Robinson. He said he knows if he wanted to stay and continue, he could.

"But after 40-some years, you start to think — I've got things I want to do."

He said he's ready to move on and devote more time to his wife, the woman whose support he said made his career possible, as well as his two sons and three grandchildren. He's also ready to move onto the next chapter — building a coastal home where he and his wife plan to relocate to in the near future.

"It's time," Nugent said. "Time to let some other folks who have trained and worked hard come in and take the department to the next level. It's just time."

Nugent said he keeps thinking about his morning drive to work — parking in his spot, walking up the back steps and into his second-floor office on North Church Street. An early bird, he usually arrives to work around 6:30 a.m. when the building is quiet. Nugent and a person keeping watch on a 24-hour shift are the only ones in the building.

In Nugent's office are large, east facing windows, offering "the most beautiful sunrise" some mornings. He has pictures on his phone to prove it, but he said they don't do the view justice.

He said he's spent countless mornings watching the sunrise, reflecting.

"You sit and you think about how blessed you are to have what you have and be able to do what you're doing.

"I'll miss that."

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