Mike O’Brian named Michigan Fire Chief of the Year

Fire Chief Michael O’Brian with the Brighton Area Fire Authority was named Michigan Fire Chief of the Year at a virtual meeting of the Michigan Association of Fire Chiefs on July 14, 2020. Chief O’Brian chairs the International Code Council’s Fire Code Action Committee and is also the international director of the International Association of Fire Chiefs’ Fire and Life Safety Section.

Michigan Association of Fire Chiefs Immediate Past President David Glotzbach said that O’Brian was nominated by two other fire chiefs, and after undergoing an evaluation was named Fire Chief of the Year. “He has a wealth of knowledge and has sacrificed a lot of his personal time. Anybody in the fire service looking for help or a resource, Mike has always been there to assist in any way.”

Chief O’Brian has been with the Brighton Area Fire Department since 2007, after starting his firefighting career with the Farmington Hills Fire Dept. He gradually worked his way up in Brighton, and was picked to head the department in 2011 by former fire chief Larry Lane.

“We have a great team… and those are the true heroes, from our senior staff to our shift captains to our regular firefighters,” O’Brian said upon receiving the award. As a result of the wide latitude the authority’s board gives him to be active in other like-minded organizations, he is involved with other fire chiefs in Livingston County, state and even national organizations, particularly on legislative and finance issues.