New Bloomfield Township fire chief sworn in

The Bloomfield Township Board of Trustees meeting ended on Monday, September 14, with the swearing in of the township’s new fire chief, John LeRoy, following the retirement of chief Mike Morin. “Thanks for saving the best for last,” said trustee Neal Barnett. The trustees unanimously approved the recommendation for LeRoy to replace Morin, who is retiring at the end of September, just shy of 34 years of service. “I’m looking for a job if anyone is hiring,” Morin joked. Morin has worked with LeRoy since 2001 in many different capacities in the fire department, and gave a glowing recommendation about his replacement. He discussed how LeRoy, who has served as the assistant chief for the township since 2017, has been mentored and coached by many, including his own father, Jack LeRoy, who was both a police chief and fire chief of Oxford Township. Morin brought up LeRoy's leadership skills, which included LeRoy being the leader of the ISO team that led to improving the township’s fire rating from a class 4 to a class 3. The board couldn’t let LeRoy off too easy, though. When it was time for the board to be open for questions, trustee Michael Schostak joked he was going to put him in the hot seat. Schostak asked what the biggest challenges were going to be about this new role. LeRoy said recruitment and retention. When Schostak asked what LeRoy was looking for from the board, LeRoy replied that he hoped for the continued support the board has been giving the department. Before LeRoy gave his speech to thank the board for the recommended approval, there was one vital person that was brought in from the parking lot – his dad –who had been watching the meeting in his car. “You have to wait for dad, this is too big a moment,” said trustee Dani Walsh. LeRoy thanked his family and the fire department for going above and beyond every day. “I look forward to the new challenges ahead,” LeRoy said. As for Morin’s retirement, everyone on the board wished Morin well in his retirement and praised his years of service. Morin was awarded with a tribute plaque from supervisor Leo Savoie, who also informed Morin of the Mike Morin I Care Award, which will be deposited into the firefighters' charity. He said moving forward, each year this award will be voted on by the command staff and given to the individual firefighter who best exemplifies Morin attributes, with $1,000 given to its recipient. “I couldn’t have had a better career or better people to work with,” Morin said.