Meet Rochester Hills' New Fire Chief

ROCHESTER HILLS, MI — Rochester Hills announced Monday that Todd Gary will serve as the new fire chief of the Rochester Hills Fire Department.

Gary becomes the department's sixth fire chief in the City’s 40-year history afters serving as the department’s deputy fire chief since 2016.

He is responsible for 78 staff members and five fire stations to service the City’s 32-square-miles that sees roughly 9,000 calls a year.

"It has been my honor to serve this community for the last 43 years, and I am excited about the opportunity to lead an outstanding group of men and women," Gary said. "I want to thank Mayor Barnett for putting his trust in me and look forward to further enhancing our reputation as the premiere fire department in Michigan."

Gary is a second-generation firefighter for the Rochester Hills Fire Department. His father, Roger Gary, served as a district chief starting in 1977. The two worked together out of Fire Station No. 5 early in his career.

Gary started his career as a paid-on-call firefighter for then-Avon Township in 1981 when the township recorded 1,055 calls for service in a year. He then a became full-time fire dispatcher in 1986 and a firefighter in 1987. He was eventually promoted to fire inspector in 1993.

Four years later, Gary was promoted again to the rank of fire inspector/lieutenant.

In 2001, Gary was named the fire marshal, a position he held until becoming the deputy fire chief.

"Fire Chief Gary is the ideal leader for our organization," Rochester Hills Mayor Bryan K. Barnett said. "He brings with him over four decades of fire service experience in our community and understands our needs and expectations. I am excited to watch our department grow under his leadership."

Gary has two daughters and three grandchildren and lives in Rochester Hills, where he grew up and graduated from Rochester High School. He loves spending time with family and has enjoyed many summer weekends at his granddaughter’s horse shows.

"This is home," Gary said. "I cannot say enough good things about this City and the people who live here. We also have a great team in the Rochester Hills Fire Department who pride themselves on providing the very best service."