Golden Valley Fire Chief John Crelly Retires After 42 Years of Service

Golden Valley Fire Chief John Crelly is retiring from the fire department after 42 years of service. 

His last day is Dec. 12.

His long career isn’t typical for a firefighter. 

“I never imagined running this long,” he told CCX News. “I’m glad that I’ve been able to do it this long — I’m certainly the exception to the rule. Most firefighters leave this industry after about 20 years because it’s such a demanding job.”

One of the things that kept him on the job so long was the feeling that he still had things to accomplish.

“I did have what I would describe as carrots that we keeping me here,” Crelly said. “I wanted to see the east fire station get built, I wanted to see the complete transition of the fire department to a scheduled part-time department.”

With his career winding down, he feels like he’s accomplished many of those goals. 

“We are poised, we have state bonding monies to build the [east] station,” he said. “As far as here in the downtown, the local sales tax was passed by the voters … I feel good about where we’ve gotten to.”

Golden Valley Fire Chief John Crelly is retiring on Dec. 12.

A Passion for People and Firefighting

Crelly — a second generation firefighter — said he’ll miss being chief. But he said he’ll miss the people he worked with and interacted with much more than the job itself. 

“I’d always start with the people that I work with — I’m going to miss that the most,” he said. “We do see some nasty things but we do meet some really cool people and do some incredible things that just help our community.”

His colleagues said his care for others is an inspiration. 

“I’ve never met somebody as a chief who cares so deeply about each and every single person that he encounters,” said Golden Valley Fire Department Assistant Chief Bethany Brunsell. 

And despite his 42 years on the job, his passion for the fire service and his fellow fire fighters hasn’t waned. 

“I’m proud of what we’ve done,” Crelly said. “I’m proud of who I’ve worked with, I’m proud of the job we get done. We really put it all out there.”

Golden Valley