Firefighter Comes Out of Retirement for MO Chief Job

WARRENSBURG, MO—Bob Shaw joined the Warrensburg Fire Department as the new fire chief following the retirement of former fire chief Jim Kushner.

Shaw is returning to service, having retired from the Du Quoin, IL, Fire Department after 34 years of service.

“I had retired and, after a year, turns out I didn’t like it,” Shaw said.

Shaw said he began his career as a firefighter out of admiration for his uncle who was a marine and volunteer firefighter.

“I tried to get on to the volunteer fire department in my hometown and before I could get on, there was a waiting list,” Shaw said. “Before I could get on to the volunteers, they tested for paid personnel and I took that test got hired.”

Shaw joined the Du Quoin Fire Department in Du Quoin, IL, in 1983 and served with the department until 2018, retiring as chief of the department.

Shaw and his wife, Roalyn, have family nearby with a daughter and son-in-law in Waynesville.

“I haven’t been able to do a lot of things with that set of grandkids … I was just able to see them a couple times a year,” Shaw said.

Shaw and his wife were married in 1980 and have four grandchildren.

Shaw’s son, Corey, also a firefighter, died at the age of 22 in 2011 from injuries incurred while fighting a fire in Pinckneyville, Illinois, when a portion of the building collapsed. Corey was flown to a hospital but later died from his injuries.

A year after his son’s death, Shaw announced new initiatives for training in Du Quoin, which is in rural southern Illinois.

An article about the training by The Southern Illinoisian states that funding for training in rural areas is limited as most fire departments are operated with volunteers and Shaw was working with the Illinois Fire Service Institute for training throughout southern Illinois.

While outside the firehouse, Shaw enjoys raising a medium to large dog breed that closely resembles German shepherds, called belgian malinois, lifting weights, reading and watching the Warrensburg High School football games.

In Du Quoin, Shaw coached high school football.

“I’ll miss that aspect of it and naturally I’ll miss seeing some friends,” Shaw said.

Shaw has set some goals for the WFD, including achieving an ISO One rating and become a nationally accredited fire department.

“Right now we are working to get everybody built back up to where we have a full staff,” Shaw said.

Shaw said the department is looking for part-time personnel and college students for their student program.

"I'm a pretty simple person," Shaw said. "I go to work, I play with kids, I play with dogs. That's me kinda in a nutshell."

A public meet and greet is in the makings but a date has not yet been announced.

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