Highlights from Sayre's career

City Fire Chief Milton M. Sayre is retiring Saturday. Here are a few highlights of his career:

• He joined the department as a firefighter in 1974, rose to captain in November 1986 and eventually moved to battalion chief in 1991. Battalion Chief Sayre later became the deputy fire chief in May 1999.
• As deputy chief, he overhauled safety and operational policies, instituted the KNOW-BOX rapid entry system, oversaw the creation of three specialized rescue teams and procured over $1 million in federal grants for the department, just to name a few things.
• Chief Sayre was appointed to his current position in March of last year after Daniel Gaumont left for a job in Keller, Texas. Now Chief Sayre plans to spend more time fishing in the St. Lawrence River. A farewell gathering of departmental personnel is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. today at the South Massey Street fire station.