Capt. Pat O'Donnell is on his final shift with the Batavia Fire Department tonight.
He joined the department Sept. 5, 1979 and decided it's time to stow his boots permanently.
"The body is not like it used to be," O'Donnell said. "It takes a few days to recuperate after being here for four."
Divorced with two daughters in college, O'Donnell has no sure plans for his retirement. He is staying in Batavia (His family was in Elba when he was born and moved to Batavia when he was in third grade.) and looking forward to a summer of taking it easy, playing golf and taking a couple of trips with his girls.
Asked if he had a message for the community, O'Donnell said, "The community should feel blessed that they’ve got this place. The guys do a hell of a job with the equipment that they’ve got. I know over the course of the last two or three years we’ve gotten a lot of bad publicity but the people in the city don’t realize what they have in this place. They do a good job."
I want to wish Pat the most
I want to wish Pat the most enjoyable of retirements. We have worked together for almost 20 years. I couldn't be prouder to call him a peer, mentor and friend. I learned alot from him....mainly to stay true to your convictions .....the needs of the whole outway the needs of one. He also taught me to be patient. It wasn't always easy to hold my tongue. It only took a look from Pat to realize that that moment wasn't the time to wage the war. He also taught me to move on....Thank you Pat for being just who you are. May you have great adventures. Congratulations for a job well done. You deserve it. :)