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After 30 years with the Minneapolis Fire Department — including the past five as chief — Bryan Tyner is preparing to retire. During his time in the department, Tyner led firefighters through some of the city’s most challenging periods, including the pandemic and the unrest following the murder of George Floyd.

Tyner has emphasized improving diversity within the department and expanding support for firefighter health and safety. He points to progress in representation and programs like the EMS Pathways Academy, which aims to attract candidates from underrepresented communities.

Following his retirement, Tyner will take on a new role as executive director of the Phyllis Wheatley Community Center in north Minneapolis, an organization he has long been connected to. 

The city is looking nationwide for its next fire chief and will name an interim after Tyner retires at the end of the year.

Tyner sat down with Sarah Thamer, MPR News senior reporter, to talk about his proudest accomplishments, the challenges he’s faced, and his hopes for the future of the department.

You have led the department through some of its most difficult times, from the unrest after George Floyd's murder to devastating fires. What has been the hardest stretch of your career?

Oh, that's a tough question to answer. But it probably is that time when we were dealing with the pandemic, and also right towards the end of the civil unrest, based upon George Floyd's murder, and having to kind of reconcile that with the fact that I really had strong feelings about that too, having seen that video, and being just as mad as probably anybody else out there. But also having the responsibility of making sure the city didn't burn down and that we don't lose lives while this riot was going on. And so having to kind of balance those two things, I really leaned into my duty as the assistant chief at the time, and kind of dealt with my feelings with the murder of George Floyd later. But having to deal with those things both at once was really a great challenge for me. Then I took over as fire chief shortly thereafter, and then had to kind of lead the department through its recovery from both of those events.

You have said that one of your proudest accomplishments was improving diversity in the department. What progress have you seen and what work do you think still needs to be done?

What I have seen is that our numbers, when you talk about across really all the communities, whether we're talking about different races or different genders, have risen in my time here as chief. However, I still don't think we look like the community we serve. I think there's still a lot more work to do, particularly when it comes to hiring female firefighters. Right now, the national average of female firefighters in the career fire service is about four percent, here in Minneapolis we're at about eight percent, maybe nine percent which is twice the national average, but still far below where we should be. So at one time, we were 17 percent here in the city of Minneapolis. But we lost a lot of women through attrition, and we didn't hire at the rate that we lost them. And so now we're back down about half of where we were. 

When you think about the future of the Minneapolis Fire Department, what do you hope the next chief continues, or maybe does differently?

One thing I hope that the chief continues is the diversification of the department. I hope they continue to grow the department. I believe that we need about 45 more firefighters in order to operate this department safely and effectively, and have four people on every rig, every day and meet national standards. And so I hope the chief continues towards that. And with things like mental health resources and cancer reduction, those are two things that are relatively new to the fire service and something that we haven't paid attention to in the past, that we've been able to make some headway on, that I hope the next chief will really continue.

You're taking on a new role, leading the Phyllis Wheatley Community Center, the same place that you grew up attending as a kid. What does it mean to come full circle?

It means a lot. It's actually an exciting possibility for me that I'll be able to lead the Phyllis Wheatley Community Center. I went there as a young child, playing sports and doing other things. I sent my children to the Mary T. Wellcome Child Development Center at the Phyllis Wheatley Community Center when they were kids, and recently, I've served as a volunteer member of their executive board. So to really come full circle like this is a really exciting opportunity for me. And I don't know if you know this, but they're 101 years old. They're like the oldest surviving Black institution here in the city of Minneapolis. So, to be chosen to help lead them toward their next 100 years, is really a huge opportunity for me, and something I don't take for granted.

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Minneapolis Fire Chief Bryan Tyner reflects on leadership, legacy, and what comes next, including his new role as the head of the Phyllis Wheatley Community Center.

Sarah Thamer | MPR News

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Minneapolis Fire Department Chief Bryan Tyner

Outgoing Minneapolis Fire Chief Bryan Tyner reflects on 30 years of service

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