Calabash fire 'dynamic duo' to retire together after more than a decade as chiefs

It was 3 a.m. and the house was fully engulfed in flames when Calabash Fire Department Chief Randall Bork and Assistant Chief Jim Bruno arrived.

Bork recalls it was a home in Carolina Shores, though the year escapes him.

While the exact details are fuzzy, Bork knows one thing about the biggest blaze he and Bruno fought together during their 13-year tenure as chiefs.

"We handled it," Bork said. "It's what we do."

After a combined 103 years in the fire service, including 13 at the helm together in Calabash, Bork and Bruno are ending their careers the only way that seems right — together.

'A great pair'

Bruno was the first person Bork met when he interviewed for the chief job in 2009.

"I wasn't allowed to say anything to him," Bruno laughed.

After two weeks on the job, Bork was ready to quit.

"He told me, 'No, you're doing good, stay here,'" Bork said. "He talked me into it, now him and I are inseparable."

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Bruno had been with the department since 2006, retiring to Calabash following a career in Virginia. Bork took the chief's job in 2009 and the two quickly became like a well-oiled machine.

Bork said the two settled into a routine together, having lunch together almost every day. It was there that their friendship bloomed.

Their relationship has been likened to that of Batman and Robin, or Mayberry's Andy Taylor and Barney Fife, but Bork said their friendship is one-of-a-kind.

"We're the best of friends," Bork said.

Honey Chiocco, public information officer for the Calabash Fire Department, said either Bruno or Bork responded to every structure fire, fire alarm, car crash or other major call in the department's fire district during their tenure.

"They're just a great pair," Chiocco said.

Accomplishments

Bruno remembers the first blaze they fought together: a mobile home fire off of Beach Drive in Calabash. The two were at a chief's meeting in Bolivia and raced the 30 miles back to extinguish it.

They've seen a lot over the past 13 years, but Bruno said they thankfully never saw a fire fatality in their coverage area.

Over the past 16 years since he joined the department in 2006, Bruno said, the department has seen several changes.

At that time, he said, the department was much smaller than it is today, with two full-time firefighters. Now, there are 15 full-timers and 17 part-timers.

When Bruno first arrived, a circa-1972 station — that "moved when the wind blew" — housed the department. Bork arrived in 2009 and a new building quickly topped his priority list.

In 2013, four years into the dynamic duo's era, that goal was accomplished as a new building was built where the old one once stood.

During their tenure, the department purchased its first-ever brand new pumper fire truck, which was made possible by a grant Bruno wrote. Bruno helped bring more than $2 million in funds to the department through grant writing.

The duo is leaving the department with one final improvement: a 2022 state-of-the-art ladder truck which is set to be in service by the end of June.

"I believe I made some improvements since I got here, and I hope that the next chief improves on what I'm leaving here," Bork said.

Moving out, moving over

A standing-room-only crowd filled the Calabash Fire Department Friday, May 27, and celebrated the two men with reminiscent stories, a few jokes about Bruno's height and countless tears — mostly shed by Bork.

Quoting Babe Ruth, Bruno said it was time for the "old fellas" to step aside and make room for the younger crew.

Bork said he's looking forward to spending time with family, fishing and renovating his old trucks in retirement, but most of all, he's glad the 3 a.m. wake-up calls are behind him. He hopes his eight grandchildren — seven granddaughters and one grandson — take up most of his time.

Bruno plans to stay with the department as a volunteer and spend his free time working on his music — a goal made more possible by the keyboard gifted to him by the department at the retirement party.

As far as their friendship, Bork said it'll remain strong even though their daily lunch routine might be interrupted.

"We're gonna stay close," Bork said.

A new fire chief has not yet been named, but Chiocco said they have been hired and are set to take the job July 1. Bork said he trusts he's leaving the department in good hands.

Jamey Cross is the public safety reporter at the StarNews. Reach her at jbcross@gannett.com or message her on Twitter @jameybcross. 

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Calabash fire chief, assistant retire together after 13 years at helm