MILLBURY — Lake Township Fire Chief Bruce Moritz will extinguish his 53-year career this fall.

Moritz announced his retirement, effective Oct. 7, at last week’s Lake Township Trustees meeting.

“It’s been a good run,” said Moritz, who is 71. “I hope I left this place a better place than when I got it. And that’s nothing bad against anyone previous. … I think that should be every chief’s desire, is to leave it better than when he got it.”

When Moritz was hired in August 2013, he had been a fire chief for over 20 years, first with the Clay-Genoa Fire District from 1988-2000, then with the Allen-Clay Joint Fire District.

He started out as a volunteer with Clay-Center Fire Department, then Genoa when he married his wife, Rita, and they moved to the village.

“I joined there right away. I was on (the department) before I got back from my honeymoon,” Moritz said.

He said being a firefighter is the ultimate service.

“You give back to the community, that’s the beauty part of it. You’re helping people who are in need. When they call you, it’s usually their worst time,” Moritz said.

Moritz came into Lake during a challenging time. There had been an interim chief since February when the previous chief had resigned over a scandal involving other township personnel and their conduct at a wedding.

“You’ve done an outstanding job, the best fire chief I’ve ever hired,” said Trustee Richard Welling. “You came in during a time of controversy and you squared things away. You got the fire department to a very high professional level.”

Moritz said he led the department with honesty.

“I was truthful with them and up front,” he said.

Moritz said that when he joined Lake, he only planned to stay five years; it’s been nine.

He has unfinished business at Lake: A $24,000 study with Rossford and Northwood about combining EMS and fire services.

Moritz said he would like to see that result and help the trustees implement a solution.

“Fire service today is in some way in trouble. Volunteerism is a dying breed. And it’s all across the country, it’s not just here,” Moritz said. “We have to do something full time, whether we’re part of a fire district or we’re not, this study should give the township a very good road map on what direction it needs to take.”

When Moritz started in Lake, there were around 900 runs a year. Now, it’s around 1,500 annually.

He praised his wife and family for putting up with his chaotic career.

“She’s been behind me my whole career. I’ll tell you what, a fireman’s wife is something special,” Moritz said. “They put up with a lot. You miss family dinners, you miss holidays.”

One Christmas he spent fighting a fire at a Genoa establishment.

“My boy followed me into service as a volunteer. Now, his work has taken him out of it,” Moritz said. “And my daughter is first assistant prosecutor in Richland County.”

Trustee Chairman Ken Gilsdorf said there will be an initial search in house for a new chief. It may branch out to other avenues, he said.