VIDEO: After more than 30 years with the Tacoma Fire Department, and five years leading it, Chief Tory Green has retired.
Green said he plans to spend time working on his farm and will likely get a different job in the future. But for now, he is sharing his hopes for the department and the challenges facing it.
Green spent 31 years with the Tacoma Fire Department, starting at 23 years old after getting out of the U.S. Navy.
“It's a little surreal. I've been with the fire department longer than I haven't,” said Green.
He never imagined becoming the department's top boss. “I never thought I would be, I never wanted to be,” he laughed.
But Green said he is grateful for his role and the department. He is an advocate for mental health resources for first responders and made a video with others in the department a couple years ago to try to break the stigma of firefighters seeking help.