By Adam Swift
After nearly 40 years as a Revere firefighter, the last eight-and-a-half of those as chief, Chris Bright has retired.
Aidan, shown at the retirement ceremony.
Bright’s experience, leadership, and compassion were honored during a ceremony at fire headquarters on Thursday, Jan. 2 marking Bright’s service to the city.
“Chief Bright has dutifully and honorably served the City of Revere for 30-plus years: to say we are grateful for his dedication is an understatement,” said Mayor Patrick Keefe. “Chief Bright climbed the ranks of the Department and developed into a strong leader and a ‘good jake.’ He is leaving the Fire Department better than he found it, and his talents and lessons will be passed down and built upon by the generations of Revere firefighters that he trained and managed.”
Bright’s father Paul was a Revere firefighter, and his mother worked across the street at the bank on Broadway.
But Bright said it wasn’t a sure thing that he would follow in his father’s footsteps. He went to college and spent some time teaching before taking the firefighting exam and joining the department in 1986.
For Bright, it has been a choice and a life he hasn’t looked back upon with regret.
“It has been a great honor to be a firefighter and to be the best firefighter possible and to make my family proud,” said Bright.
He said he is thankful to the city of Revere for allowing him to do a job he has loved for nearly four decades.
“I was able to do a job that was meaningful, and I was all in,” said Bright. “Not everyone is that lucky.”
During his time as chief, Bright said he is most proud of keeping staffing levels up, having hired 55 firefighters during his time as chief.
Seeing the construction of a new Point of Pines fire station has also been a major accomplishment.
“That’s personal to me,” said Bright, noting that he was at the original Point of Pines station when they hung the ‘closed for business’ sign 30 years ago.
Bright said he never planned on being chief, but that he felt fortunate to hold the position for over eight years.
“My father always used to say to leave a place better than you found it, and I believe I did that,” he said.
While he has no set plans for retirement at the moment, Bright said he will still be in the city, taking part in official ceremonies and other events.
On retiring, Bright said it’s the daily interactions with his fellow firefighters that he will miss the most.
“There are a lot of good people that have been in the department, both retired and currently,” Bright said. “It’s in good shape moving forward with the people taking over.”
