Minneapolis fire chief retiring after 30 years for job at Phyllis Wheatley

After a career that saw everything from historic riots and devastating fires to dramatic rescues and baby deliveries, Minneapolis Fire Chief Bryan Tyner will hang up his gear at the end of the year to take on a new role serving the city.

Tyner, 58, said it felt like the right time to step away after 30 years with the Minneapolis Fire Department, the last five at the helm. Reflecting on his career in an interview at Fire Station 1 downtown, he said the long days and nights were worth it.

“If you love it, it’s the best thing in the world. If you hate it, then you really should find something you like and make money at that,” Tyner said. “But to me, man, it was the best career in the world.”

Tyner was the second Black chief in the department’s history. Alex Jackson was the first, serving in the position from 2008 until 2012.

Next year, Tyner will take over as executive director of the Phyllis Wheatley Community Center. Interim executive director Valerie Stevenson said she looks forward to Tyner leading the century-old Black-led organization that provides social services, educational programs and more in north Minneapolis. Tyner, a north Minneapolis native, grew up attending the center, sent his five kids there, and has served on its board of directors.

“I’m really proud of him stepping into this role because I know he’s going to take the organization where we want it to go,” Stevenson said.

The nonprofit offers services including child daycare, summer camp, programs to help young people get jobs, computer programming, wealth-building assistance for adults, and more.

Tyner first became interested in firefighting in his 20s while working for a bus company. He joined the department in 1995, and it was up his alley, he said, fulfilling his desire to serve the community and his inner “adrenaline junkie,” all while avoiding a boring desk job.

Tyner spent five years as a firefighter and one as a truck driver for the department before spending the majority of his career as a captain. He rose through the ranks to become an assistant chief before taking over leading the department in December 2020, following the retirement of Chief John Fruetel.

Of the countless blazes to which he was called, among the most memorable to Tyner was the Francis Drake Hotel fire in 2019, which displaced more than 200 people.

The aftermath of the murder of George Floyd by a former Minneapolis police officer included a surge in fires along Lake Street during the unrest that ensued. In addition to the exhaustion, it was emotionally difficult, Tyner said.

“It was challenging for me ... being a Black man and a Black chief. When you looked at what happened to George Floyd and the video and everything, I was just as mad as the people that were out protesting,” he said. “But at the same time, I had a duty to make sure that the city didn’t burn down and that people weren’t hurt trying to be out in protest.”

“It was just one after another,” he said. “Some we would have to just kind of go in, knock down the fire from the outside and move on to the next fire. We couldn’t even fight it the way that we normally would.”

Some of his proudest accomplishments, Tyner said, were improving diversity in the department and the implementation of the EMS Pathways Academy. The program is a paid internship where participants learn the skills to work in emergency medical services.

Tyner said he emphasized addressing possible barriers faced by women or people of color to firefighting, while not lowering the standards.

Tyner responded to many harrowing scenes, but he chuckled when he recalled the times he had to help deliver babies who made an early arrival before their mothers could make it to the hospital.

“I caught the baby, cut the cords and all of that stuff,” he said. “The mother does all the work. But it’s still kind of a cool thing.”

Aside from working to grow the Phyllis Wheatley Community Center, Tyner said he’s looking forward to traveling more with his wife and spending more time with his 2-year-old granddaughter. Looking back at his career, Tyner said he feels pleased to have accomplished about 90% of what he set out to get done and that the department is in good hands.