Former fire chief Gregoire dead at 71

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This article was published 15/07/2023 (1167 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A man who once held the position of Brandon fire chief from 2001 to early 2005 has died at the age of 71.

Rich Gregoire worked for the City of Brandon for more than 30 years before his retirement in 2006.

Gregoire’s friend, past colleague and one-time brother-in-law Murray Blight said the loss of Gregoire was “devastating.”

“It was like being hit in the head when I heard the news,” Blight said. “His nickname was Frenchie, and we go way back to our high school days and playing fastball. And then of course he became my brother-in-law, so at that time we went on a couple of trips to the tropics and down through the States.”

In the 1970s and 1980s, Gregoire was an “exceptional pitcher” in the Brandon Centennial Fastball League, playing in the men’s league before he could drive, said Blight, racking up many wins with the Westmen and the Pizza Place Clubbers.

A few years later, when Blight was president of the Manitoba Broomball Association, Gregoire was chosen to be a referee in the national championships in Quebec.

Their careers took them along the same path — protective services. When Blight joined the Brandon Police Service, Gregoire signed up with the fire department.

“We pretty well joined at the same time,” said Blight. “I joined in 1971 and I think he was shortly thereafter, and then he just escalated up the ladder. In fact, he was president of the Brandon Professional Firefighters Association and then he went into management.”

Gregoire was sworn in as Brandon’s fire chief in May 2001. Four months later, he would be making the decision to send local firefighters to New York City to help their American counterparts dig through the rubble after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

In late 2004, Gregoire became the general manager of Protective Services. During his tenure, he chaired a committee that planned the proposed public safety building for both police officers and firefighters at First Street and Rosser Avenue.

Those plans were downsized to just a fire hall, which was eventually built at 120 19th St. North.

In May 2006, Gregoire retired after working 34 years for Brandon Fire and Emergency Services. He spent his winters as a snowbird in Texas, said Blight, and when back in Manitoba, helped one of his sons at his contracting company.

“He kept himself busy, still enjoyed sports, played pool and darts, and helped his son with contract work in the Pelican Lake area,” Blight said.

Over the years they didn’t stay in “regular contact,” Blight said, but they had the family connection and Gregoire stood up for him at his wedding.

“In later years we weren’t what you would call close, but he reached out from Texas when my wife was seriously injured in a car crash earlier this year,” Blight said.

Rich Gregoire is survived by his partner Sandra, and two sons, Geoff and Tim.

» mmcdougall@brandonsun.com

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