The Detroit police and fire departments are saluting one of their own, Chief Chaplain George Aren, as he turns 90 years old.

In lieu of a birthday party, the department surprised Aren Wednesday to celebrate all the things he's contributed to the department and the city since he began in 1987.

"Its just been very rewarding and it doesnt cease to amaze me," Aren said.

Aren has consoled and prayed for Detroit families during some of their worst nightmares for decades: tragedies like fires, barricaded gunman situations and plane crashes.

Just a few days into the job, Aren helped respond to flight 255, a plane that crashed shortly after takeoff from Detroit Metro Airport, killing all but one passenger.

"That was my introduction to disaster services and it's been a wonderful thing. Detroit is always in the media and it gets a bad rep, but Detroiters cant be out-given," Aren said.

On Wednesday, Aren's children and grandchildren were a part of a celebration at Detroit Pubic Safety Headquarters, playing in the band and sitting in the audience.

"Weve always known that dad, grandpa is a pretty big deal, pretty special guy, very humble guy. He probably wouldnt have come if he knew all of this was here," said Jennifer Zahler, who is one of the chaplain's five kids.

"It inspires us. When I think at my age, Im tired, I cant go to school today, I cant deal with whatever Im going to face, I think your father has probably been up earlier, you father's at work right now doing what hes taught you to do."

"Seeing all the support and love in this room, its like wow. Not only has he had such a big impact on me as a grandpa but so many other people as George Aren as well," Sydney Moore said as she spoke of the chaplain.

Aren, to this day, is still working and he says he plans to stick around until at least September.

"You just counted 90 years of life here on this earth. What keeps you working and showing up every day," 7 News Detroit reporter Whitney Burney asked.

"My wifes honey-do list," the Chaplain said jokingly. "No, its people. Meeting people, its nothing like it, nothing like meeting people and helping in a time of need."

Where Your Voice Matters

A neighborhood on Detroit's west side is still digging out after hundreds of gallons of water came rushing onto a street following a water main break.

It's story we first told you about on Tuesday.

Related Video: Water main break turns street into ice Water main break turns streets into ice on Detroit's west side

The water main break happened on Vaughan and Constance turning the road into a river, forcing neighbors to stay inside their homes.

I went out to speak to the city about what they believe may have led to the main break, and neighbors are concerned about how things will shake out as we anticipate colder weather overnight.

"It was at least two or three cars that were stuck in the ice for at least a day," said Drey Skonie of Detroit.

Neighbors on the west side are looking for relief as some are stranded inside with no running water.

"It's too serious, we're talking about children and families. And no running water in the wintertime is cold," he said.

Related Video: Drone video shows major flooding on Detroit street after water main break Drone video shows major flooding on Detroit street after water main break

Vince Palmer says "the mail hasn't ran, cars come down the middle of the street, they get stuck. A lot of neighbors out here pushing and digging, trying to get each other off."

Palmer says it's an issue this neighborhood has dealt with for years, but this is first time it's happened while it's this cold.

"I been here for 10 years and 8 out of the 10, whenever it rains, we get a flood out here. I call it my lakefront property. It's a joke when you can play out here with your boats, but when it's cold like this, it's nothing but an inconvenience," he said.

The city's water and sewerage department says they're dealing with more than 10 water main breaks across Detroit and this one is the worst.

And the cold weather makes cleanup even harder.

"The pumping is very important, so we gotta make sure our pumps work. We would normally have our big vacuum trucks out here. They're called vactors, but the temperature is so low that that equipment would actually freeze in this weather," said Bryan Peckinpaugh, Detroit Water & Sewerage Department .

We asked if aging infrastructure plays a role in any way.

"New piping does help, but more today it's more about the weather. The drastic change in temperature putting pressure on the pipes underground causing them to break," said Peckinpaugh.

DWSD says the pipe that broke here was nearly a century old.

The city is currently working through a $500 million capital improvement plan to replace vulnerable sewer lines and water mains like it fixes neighbors say are needed now.

"A simple rain shouldn't flood up a street, and it's been long enough, so they should be able to have the resources, so we don't have to deal with this in the middle of the winter," said Palmer.