Sifting through his collection of photos spanning over four decades in the Colwood Fire Service, a reflective Greg Chow sums up his time fighting fires and saving lives as 鈥榝ulfilling鈥�.

And with 42 years of service under his belt, fulfilled he should be, as Chow can proudly call himself the longest-serving firefighter in Colwood鈥檚 history. 

鈥淚t really hasn't sunk in," he said. 鈥淚'm glad I spent all my time in one department. That's not usually heard of - and to live in the community and help, that鈥檚 a great feeling; it goes a long way.鈥�

Chow first considered retiring from the fire service in February, but when he realized he was months away from writing himself into the Colwood history books, he decided it was something worth sticking around for.

鈥淚 looked at it and I thought, 'Okay, records are meant to be broken,'鈥� says Chow about the former record-holding firefighter, Alan Emery, whose length of service to Colwood he estimates at 41 years and 鈥渟o many months鈥�.

Chow鈥檚 firefighting career first began in the summer of 1982 as a volunteer, before he made the move to a career-firefighter in February 2000. He estimates he has attended over 5,000 calls, but it鈥檚 two incidents that stick out 鈥渂ig time鈥� for him. 

Chow vividly remembers a warehouse fire in September 1987 and battling to protect a propane station on Jacklin Road from the blaze.

鈥淚t was called the Van Isle fire,鈥� said Chow.

The other, in June 2010, was a fire at the Colwood Plaza at 1913 Sooke Rd.

鈥淲e came in at 4 a.m. and it was probably a 12 to 13 hour day,鈥� said Chow about the fire, described as one of the largest structure fires in the department鈥檚 history. 鈥淭he fire was that big, we ended up having mutual aid from Langford and View Royal for many hours - lots of water was flowing.鈥�

Since joining the fire service as a fresh-faced teenager, Chow has seen many changes.

"Heck, I started before I even had met my wife, had kids, bought a house," he says. "And the fire service has definitely come a long way too. We鈥檝e gotten bigger trucks, bigger engines, more pumping power, all that sort of stuff, but not just that, the training, the fires are getting different, everything is changing."

Firefighting in Colwood has been a Chow family tradition for many decades. His father Alec was a firefighter from 1952 to 1976, and Chow鈥檚 uncle, Frank, also gave 18 years to the service. A second uncle, Joe, also served six years, whilst a third uncle, Harry Chow, sat on the fire department鈥檚 board of trustees.

鈥淲ith having my dad doing it, my uncles doing it, I always wanted to be a firefighter,鈥� said Chow. 鈥淏ut secretly I wanted to be an astronaut when I first started.鈥�

Chow remembers his father storing the brush fire truck at their home, where he, his brother and their friends would use the apparatus as a play area. Upon reflection, he says this could be when his fascination with firefighting began.

鈥淲hen the fires hit back in those days they didn't have pagers,鈥� said Chow. 鈥淭hey just relied on sirens in Colwood. So they would come down to my dad鈥檚 pig farm, grab the fire truck and go.鈥�

But unfortunately for the family, the tradition ends with Chow and his 42 years of service, as his two daughters Kira and Amy, have not been sparked by the firefighting flame.

That suits Chow just fine, as he hopes his retirement from the fire service will give him more quality time with his family; time that won鈥檛 be at risk of interruption.

鈥淭here鈥檚 been many lunches, dinners and birthdays where I'd get called out to an emergency,鈥� he said. 鈥淢y wife would always invite one of my friends, who had kids too around our daughters鈥� age - he was always the back-up for the barbecue, because sure enough I would always get paged up for a call.鈥�

Always understanding of his sometimes unreliable commitment to flipping burgers for the family, Chow is also appreciative of his wife Toni's support, crediting her for helping him get through the darker moments of his career.

鈥淲e've gone through a lot together,鈥� he says. 鈥淢y past chief, John Cassidy, passed away of a heart attack in June 2021 - he was on shift when that happened. That was one of the lower points of my career. I had to step up and be acting chief for six to nine months. I could not have done it without my wife鈥檚 support.鈥�

"Retiring is definitely the right decision for myself and my family," he adds.

About what he'll miss about the fire service, Chow lists the camaraderie and the 'family' at the fire house, but not the early starts, something he is slowly getting used to.

鈥淚 haven't slept in yet,鈥� said Chow, who is continuing employment in a sales role. 鈥淚t's going to take me a while, if I ever get to that point that 鈥� I鈥檓 still waking up at four or five in the morning. It鈥檚 going to be a period of adjustment.鈥�

Whilst his time in the fire service is over, Chow says he would encourage anyone who has the drive and the desire to work for the fire service to chase their dreams.

鈥淚 would absolutely recommend being a firefighter,鈥� he says. 鈥淵ou sometimes go through bad stuff, but overall, down the way you鈥檒l think about how many people you actually save - even just holding their hand during a crisis, it can make a big difference.鈥�