David McKinley was 25 years old when he first joined the Fredericton Fire Department in 1990.
Now, as he gets set to enter retirement, the assistant deputy chief is reflecting on his 35-year career with the department.
Over the decades, he’s responded to fires, ice rescues and medical calls. In 2013, he became the assistant deputy chief.
It’s not a job he took lightly.
“There’s a lot of responsibility,” said McKinley. “The weight of the department is on our shoulders, so it’s important that we keep moving forward.”
This year, McKinley received the King Charles III Coronation Medal for his service. And he leaves his legacy with dozens of members who weren’t even born when he began.
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“I have this little saying, work hard, keep your nose clean, stay out of trouble,” he said.
It’s a legacy fire Chief Dwayne Killingbeck noted at McKinley’s retirement reception.
“He leaves [the department] improved down to its very foundation, and he’s now entrusting us to carry it on his behalf, and we cannot let him down,” Killingbeck said.
Meanwhile, McKinley isn’t finished with the Fredericton Fire Department yet — he’s turning his gaze to a book chronicling the department’s history. He said it will include everything from early equipment to the volunteers and firefighters who kept Fredericton safe over the years.
“It’s important to me where we came from and some of the struggles that our firefighters ahead of us had to go through because they worked hard,” he said.
And, he has a much more immediate plan, too.
“The first thing I’m going to do is sleep in,” he said.
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