MARSHFIELD, WI (OnFocus) – Marshfield Fire and Rescue (MFRD) Chief Peter (Pete) Fletty announced his resignation, and his last day with MFRD will be August 24. He has accepted the role of Fire Chief at Onalaska Fire Department in Onalaska, Wisconsin.
“I’ll be around for the next month as I wanted to give the City and Department ample time to find an Interim Chief, and so I could work with whoever that is in a one-on-one capacity to get them up to speed,” he said. “There’s a lot to learn in this role.”
Originally from Eau Claire, Fletty started with the department in 1997. He served as Interim Chief beginning December 2021, after Chief Scott Owen’s retirement. He was formally appointed Chief in March 2022.
Personal and family reasons led him to consider the opportunity in Onalaska when it was presented to him.
“This was an incredibly difficult decision to make,” he said. “It’s not how I intended my career to end, as I always thought I would finish at Marshfield, but in the end everything seemed to point me towards Onalaska. It was a family decision and after making that decision, everything fell into place and our family decided to move that direction.”
Though Fletty is looking forward to the challenges of a new community, he said he will miss his fellow firefighter/paramedics at Marshfield Fire & Rescue.
“This is a truly unique fire department. Sometimes the chief gets credit for things that aren’t necessarily what I should get credit for. The firefighters here built a culture of being committed to each other and this community and being accountable to each other, and it’s been really cool to watch that grow over the past few years. It’s going to be tough to leave that. It’s what made this decision incredibly difficult,” he said. “But I know I’m leaving this place in a good spot. We have a lot of good leadership coming up through the ranks, pushing this department forward to better serve our community. It helped make it easier to go knowing that MFRD is in a good spot.”
“I’m looking forward to new opportunities. There’s a lot to learn but i’m looking forward to the challenges,” he added. “I enjoy a challenge and trying to solve problems and seeing solutions come to fruition. That’s why I like being Chief; I get to be on that end of the equation. Though I do really miss being on the line and going into fires and being on the ambulance, this part of the job has been something I really enjoy, too.”
Fletty plans to carry his love for the firefighting profession into his new position. While celebrating his 20th year as a part of the Marshfield Fire Department in 2018, he told OnFocus:
“After 20 years still, we have the best job in the world, hands down,” Fletty said. “I love my job, and still love coming to work after 20 years. We’re never going to be millionaires in this profession, but you can make a living doing this and there’s nothing else I’d rather do. There’s something to be said for loving your job after 20 years.”
Editor’s Note: The OnFocus team wishes Fletty the best of luck in his future!
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Author: News Desk
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