“When I passed the firefighter exam, it was the best thing that could have happened to me,” O’Regan said. “I thought, ‘Wow! I figured it out.'”
After working his way up the Johnstown Fire Department’s hierarchy – from firefighter to captain and then assistant fire chief – O’Regan became fire chief, replacing retiring Johnstown Fire Chief Bruce Heberer.
O’Regan, 59, whose birthday is in September, was promoted to the position on August 5.
“I thought I would end my career as deputy chief,” he said.
He said he owes a lot to the Heberers. Heberer’s father, former Johnstown Fire Chief Ed Heberer, hired O’Regan 30 years ago.
“Bruce has done an excellent job leading the department,” he said.
Bruce Heberer, who was chief for 18 years, has been mentoring O’Regan daily for the past two months. But O’Regan said he could be more accessible to his 24 firefighters, four paramedics and a public safety minister while he learns his job.
“I like to come early because then I can see the shift that is leaving. It’s an opportunity to discuss things with them,” O’Regan said.
There will be some adjustments in his new position, not least of which is his schedule.
“As an assistant chief, you work nights, weekends, holidays, etc. I adapt to the Monday-Friday schedule, which is easier for my personal life,” he said.
O’Regan’s personal life includes two children, a partner, playing golf with friends and traveling whenever possible.
“But in the event of a fire or a dangerous situation, I will be there,” O’Regan said. “Your job is to control the situation. I am able to get involved and will put on an air rescue backpack, but it has to be an emergency situation. Someone has to be the incident commander.”
He said the biggest challenge of their job is one that all firefighters face: stress.
“When things go bad, people look at you, so you have to be confident and have a certain demeanor,” O’Regan said. “You develop a passion for it and you need a certain personality to do it.”
“The job involves a certain amount of stress because people put themselves in danger.
The unpredictability of some of these things is stressful,” he said.
However, O’Regan said he has a great group of employees working for him and that he has a lot of confidence in them.
“You have to have confidence in your job. You have to know the job,” O’Regan said.
As he begins his new job, he is keen to show what he has in store.
“This is a new starting point for me with new responsibilities,” he said. “And I think there is a learning curve and I will do my best to adapt to it. I still have something to give.”
