From left: Fire Chief Mark MacDonald, Mayor Taso Christopher, Retiring Deputy Fire Chief Ray Ellis, and Deputy Fire Chief Bruce Greatrix, at Belleville city council, March 27, 2017 (Photo:L Mary Thomas/Quinte News)
Belleville Deputy Fire Chief Ray Ellis says he “suffered through bad times, and bad fires” but he’s still the “luckiest guy and wouldn’t change any of it.”
Ellis made the comment in a presentation to city council Monday, as he retires from the Belleville Fire Service Tuesday.
He said, in his fire career, he’d “done things and seen things you should never have to” but he wouldn’t change it for the world. He said he “would wake up in the night many times.”
Ellis, whose father was mayor of Belleville in the 1960s, told council he had fond memories of city hall.
Mayor Taso Christopher paid tribute to Ellis, mentioning his role as deputy fire chief, his work with the Firefit Combat Challenge, Ray’s Ride for Cancer, and the fact Ellis is the “poster child” for this year’s Daffodil Month fundraising campaign for the local Cancer Society.
