When Brenden Espie decided to announced his retirement from the city of Surprise after 25 years in the fire department and city manager’s office, the word spread like a literal fire.
“I do zero social media,” said Espie, the city’s fire chief and acting deputy city manager. “And I started getting text messages from guys I was in high school with, so I knew something happened.”
What happened was the city announced Espie will be departing on Thursday, Oct. 15, just a month after he reached the quarter-century mark with the city. He spent the last four years as the fire chief, then transitioned into city leadership more than a year ago.
