Ex-Youngstown fire chief retires

YOUNGSTOWN

With his father, grandfather, three uncles and brother all working as city firefighters, some might say John O’Neill was preordained to not only be a city firefighter, but also chief.

O’Neill said Thursday, however, that was not the case. It was his last day as a battalion chief at Station 2 on Indianola Avenue, where he spent most of his career before taking over as fire chief in 1998.

O’Neill said he studied to become a mechanical engineer and was actually working at that when he took a test for the fire department. It was in the wake of the steel mills closing and it was hard to find a job.

He took the test, scored seventh, was hired and immediately thrown into the fray, fighting a fire on his first shift.

That also changed his career path, he said. No more mechanical engineering; he was hooked on firefighting.

“I said, ‘This is for me,’” O’Neill said.

Read more about him in Saturday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.