Names in the News
departments
Gibbs Names Supervisor Of Paid Personnel
William C. Gibbs has been appointed fire captain, supervisor of paid personnel of the Manassas Park, Va., Fire Department.
Gibbs began his fire service career in 1956 with the Cronomer Valley, N. Y., Volunteer Fire Department. He served as a lieutenant in the Chillum-Adelphi, Md., Volunteer Fire Department and was a shift supervisor in the Hillandale, Md., Fire Department. He also was a field instructor with the Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute.
In 1974, he joined the Prince William County, Va., Fire and Rescue Service as training officer.
In his new position, Gibbs will supervise the day-to-day operations of the paid staff in the combined volunteer and paid city fire department.
J. F. Finnegan Retires
John F. Finnegan, Jr., who has headed the Richmond, Va., Fire Bureau since 1972, retired on January 7. The son of a former fire chief, Finnegan joined the bureau in January 1946.
Since he became chief, the city’s insurance rating has been raised from Class III to Class II. He was instrumental in getting the city to adopt the National Fire Prevention Code. He also was credited with the adoption of a fire bureau flag and shoulder patch emblem bearing the city’s statue of George Washington, around-the-clock fire prevention inspections, an award system to honor outstanding fire fighters, and the assignment of two detectives as arson investigators.
No decision has been made on his successor, but a search for a chief will be conducted both inside and outside the fire bureau.
“Squirrel” Mitchell Retires
G. A. Mitchell, who has been chief of the Opelika, Ala., Fire Department for the last 30 years, retired on January 1.
Mitchell’s interest in fire fighting began when he was six years old and his family moved next door to Opelika Fire Chief Riley Plott. In 1928, at the age of 13, he went to live at the fire department.
Mitchell, who is nicknamed “Squirrel,” was given a bed in the dormitory and assigned duties as a “helper.” When he reached 16, he became a volunteer fireman, at the same time holding a job at Planters Supply Company.
On December 1, 1936, at the age of 21, he became a full-time fire fighter, one of only four including the chief. In 1940, he was named assistant chief. He resigned in February 1942 to accept a position at the Anniston Army Ordinance Depot. There he organized and trained a fire department of 65, serving as chief for three years.
He returned to Opelika in February 1946 to rejoin the fire department. Shortly thereafter he was again appointed assistant chief. When the current chief, W. B. Whittaker, resigned, Mitchell, at the age of 32, was appointed chief on November 1,1947.
During his tenure with the city, the fire department’s budget has gone from approximately $21,000 in 1936 to more than half a million dollars for the current fiscal year.
He has had a distinguished career with professional associations. He served one term as president of the Alabama Association of Fire Chiefs and seven years as secretary of the Southeastern Association of Fire Chiefs.
He was a member of the board of directors of the International Association of Fire Chiefs and was elected treasurer in 1956, a position he held until the annual conference of the association this year.
Federal Fire Chief
Charles R. Bowman, Jr., has been named Chief of the United States Coast Guard Support Center Fire Department located on Governors Island in New York Harbor. He succeeded George F. Carroll who retired recently.
Bowman, who is a career federal civil service employee has served in both fire fighting and fire prevention assignments at various federal installations in the New York metropolitan area since October 1956. He is a Korean war veteran and served in the United States Navy for five years and was a fire fighter aboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Essex in the combat zone.
He is a member of the Fire Service Section of the National Fire Protection Association, the National Association of Fire Science and Administration, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the Navy Fire Protection Association, as well as the New York Fireman’s Cycle Club and the Fire Bell Club of New York.
He has attended fire science courses at Suffolk County Community College and is a qualified fire safety director, having completed courses at New York Community College.
Yanok Named Chief
Francis Yanok has been named chief of the Torrington, Conn., Fire Department after the retirement of Chief William Hoysradt. Yanok joined the department in 1949 and was promoted to lieutenant in 1958. He was appointed department training instructor three years later and in 1965 he was promoted to deputy chief.
Hoysradt, who became a fire fighter in 1947, was promoted to lieutenant in 1961 and to chief in 1965.
For many years, Yanok was active in conducting training for Litchfield County volunteer fire fighters at the Burrville Fire School in Torrington. As a result of his training program at that school, sponsored by Litchfield County fire chiefs, a number of volunteers became instructors. Yanok also for many years was an instructor in the fiveday annual Connecticut State Fire School.
Nevada Fire Marshal
T. J. Huddleston was appointed Nevada State Fire Marshal on October 2. Huddleston, a 10-year veteran of the Las Vegas Fire Department, began his fire service career as a fire fighter in 1967. He advanced to assistant fire marshal in Las Vegas before his recent appointment.
