Professional firefighter moves to Lower Burrell, now fights fires as a volunteer

When Chad Grieff arrives at the scene of a fire in Lower Burrell, his mission is tactical and practical.

A lieutenant for Lower Burrell Volunteer Fire Co. 3, Grieff, 48, helps align the fire trucks for access to battle the blaze. He calculates the best ways to douse the flames and how to blow out the smoke.

Grieff is the guy who goes into the fire with the air pack on. Air packs allow firefighters to enter and breathe in a burning, smoky building.

He knows the job well. Grieff was a professional firefighter for the City of Butler for more than 15 years and a state fire academy instructor at Butler County Community College.

He responds to about 85% of Lower Burrell’s emergencies.

“Chad is innovative and always finds ways to solve complex issues,” said Assistant Chief Brennan Sites of Lower Burrell’s Volunteer Fire Company No. 3.

What is striking about Grieff’s volunteer firefighting service is that he and his wife, Brandy Grieff, chose to move to Lower Burrell in 2019 because of the good reputations of the school district and fire departments, Chad Grieff said.

Brandy Grieff recently won a seat on the city council and will start serving in January.

“Lower Burrell has a great reputation because there are over 30 guys that can wear an air pack, and that’s a crazy number,” Chad Grief said. “It’s a luxury that the city has and others do not.

“You are better off when you have 30 guys who can do that.”

A native of Emlenton, Venango County, Grieff was a volunteer firefighter from 1989 until 1992 when he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. In 1996, after his military service, Grieff became a professional firefighter for the City of Butler, serving until 2014.

“I have a lot of miles on me with fires,” Grief said.

When he covers a blaze, Grieff said, he concentrates on the firefighting aspects — extinguishing the fire and controlling the airflow.

“A tremendous amount of science goes in it,” he said. “There is a chemistry to a fire, and I always focused on fire suppression.”

Grieff continues his work as a volunteer firefighter because he said his service is needed.

“The importance of volunteer firefighters just increases as their numbers dwindle throughout the state,” he said.