After 15 years leading North Port Fire Rescue and 45 years in the fire service, North Port Fire Department Chief William “Bill” Taaffe has announced he will retire in February. In a letter to the city manager, he wrote that “it is the proper time for me to turn over the reins to the next generation.” He said the department is “well positioned to address the needs of our growing community.” He noted that the workers on staff helped take a department that had been used to serving less than 20,000 residents into one that now serves more than 67,000. Taaffe also noted the economic health of the department- taking it from on “in debt and receiving insufficient funds, to one that has a facility, fleet, and capital equipment replacement program, as well as a new master planning and management study underway.”
