Ice hockey probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when you think of fighting fire. But if it weren’t for hockey, new Peoria Fire-Medical Chief Gary Bernard might not be in the position he is in today.
After all, his dream to be a professional hockey player is what brought him to the states in the first place. As a young man, he grew up playing hockey and moved to California from Canada to pursue a career professionally.
But when it didn’t work out, he moved to Arizona and came to know the department in Peoria. And after 30 years, formerly as a deputy chief, he is now its top official.
This appointment came after former Chief Bobby Ruiz retired Dec. 31, 2021, after an investigation.
Bernard said being a Peoria fire fighter has been a highly rewarding career, and like his foundation in hockey, he said he is a team guy and wants to build the team and make sure the department has all the right people in all the right places.
“I’ve seen this place grow up for the last 30 years from a population of 38,000 to almost 200,000 people now,” Bernard said. “We are here for the public and we want them to reach out to us if they have any needs. We are more than willing to listen and discuss how we can get better. If we are missing anything, we want to know. We want to be as efficient as we can be out there and make sure all needs are met.”
The Peoria Independent sat down with the new chief to discuss fire fighting in the city — past, present and the future. And of course, hockey.
Question: Hockey is near and dear to your heart. In your free time, you coach the Mountain Ridge High School Hockey Club. Why is it so special to you and how is it like fire fighting?
Answer: Back then I was attracted to the team aspect and the work ethic. And as I started learning more and more about the fire department, it related to the hockey team I was on. There are 20-some people on a hockey team. On the ice, there’s five people all working for a common goal to get that puck in the net. On a fire truck its the same thing. If you are in the nozzle position, you have to do a specific job, but you need to understand what the captain and the engineer are doing and what their responsibilities are. Not that you are going to know everything, but you definitely need to know your role. Same as on the ice. The camaraderie is also the same. The locker room in a hockey rink is identical to the dinner table at the fire station — the banter that goes back and forth. It’s just awesome and the time away from work is usually with the folks you are on your shift with. My kids grew up with two or three other families. They were like cousins, and the other guys are like my brothers.
Question: And how did the sport connect you to the fire department here in the 1990s when you first got involved with fire service?
Answer: I came to the U.S. from Canada in 1987 to play hockey in California and played there for four years. After my hockey career ended, I moved to Arizona. Growing up I used to watch the TV show “Emergency” so I always wanted to be a fire fighter.
Question: For those who might not remember, or even know, “Emergency!” was a popular show during the 1970s that focused on the crew of Los Angeles County Fire Department Station 51. The show actually had a hand in getting young people interested in careers like Emergency Medical Services. What happened in Arizona?
Answer: I happened to meet a firefighter from Peoria at the old Metro Center hockey rink. He also happened to work out at a gym that all the Peoria firefighters worked out at. And I happened to workout there too. So I dropped by the station and I started testing. I didn’t score high enough to get an interview but I came back a couple years later and scored high enough to get an interview. First I was hired by Rural Metro and then Peoria.
Question: Speaking of Peoria 30 years ago, what was it like in the fire department back then compared to now?
Answer: Back then they only gave out so many applications. You had to come and stand in line. We gave out 300 applications and there’d be 500 to 600 people standing in line. Six people was a lot of people to hire back then. But with a small crew, it was a really close knit family with only 50 people. Everybody knew everybody. The fire stations at the time were wide open. The bunk rooms were all together so when you went to bed at night and somebody snored, you’d throw your shoes at them and try to get them to be quiet.
Now we have individual bunk rooms so the crews are separated more. Now, after lunch time and some downtime they go to their rooms and relax. But when I grew up, you couldn’t get away from anybody. If you went to your bunk room, there’s another guy in his bunk, and if you go into the living room there’s somebody there. The rooms were maybe 100 square feet. We’ve definitely grown up more since then. Now we have over 200 fire fighters.
Question: Yes, you recently hired a new group of fire fighters. How is that going?
Answer: We have 24 that have started the academy. It is usually around a three month process before they even get to the academy. That includes the testing process and interviews. There could be two or three interviews. Then you have background checks and physicals, HR paperwork, tour of stations, workouts and then the academy.
Question: That is quite the score with that many new fire fighters. These days police and fire have a more difficult time recruiting. There isn’t the interest compared to when you first started out. Why do you think that is?
Answer: You’d have to ask the younger folks why this isn’t interesting to them because I still love it after 30 years. I see the new kids come in I want to go back through the academy and run through it again with them.
Question: What are your goals for the department as chief?
Answer: I want to get a strategic plan fully in place. We have a strategic plan but it’s not implemented throughout the department. I want to implement it so that everybody in the department down to the newest fire fighter understands where we’re going. We are also looking at our mission statements, and all the stuff we should be looking at as a fire department.
I also want to identify metrics and look at response times, which are pretty good comparatively, but I want to see where we can shave off a few seconds here a few seconds there, make it more efficient if you will. That’s important when you are doing station placement.
Philip Haldiman can be reached at phaldiman@iniusa.org, or on Twitter @philiphaldiman.
Meet Philip Haldiman is an award-winning journalist who most recently took first place for investigative reporting in 2023 from Arizona Newspapers Association. He joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2015, covering Sun City West his first year. Since 2016, he has covered the city of Peoria. Prior to coming to INI, he was a reporter with The Arizona Republic for seven years, covering numerous cities throughout the Valley. Before that, he was a freelance writer.
Community: Haldiman spearheads the Peoria Independent Hometown Heroes Awards program, honoring local individuals and businesses that give back to the community. He has hosted local candidate forums over the years and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists. Haldiman also served as a member of the Journalism Program Community Advisory Board at Glendale Community College. Outside journalism, Haldiman served as a member of the city of Peoria Complete Count Committee for the Census, 2019-2020. Lastly, he has served as a member of his HOA governing board since 2021.
Education: Arizona State University with a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications and a BA in Theater.
Random Fact: Haldiman is a fourth-generation Arizonan as well as wrote and produced an autobiographical comic book about his time spent in Hollywood and his life as a cult film star.
Hobbies: He enjoys hiking Arizona’s mountainous landscapes and is currently working on a play for the stage.
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