Firefighters in a Northern California city are mourning the sudden loss of their chief after he passed away in his sleep.
The Redding firefighters union announced via social media that Fire Chief Gerry Gray had passed away suddenly in his sleep early Monday morning, but no other details were made available.
"At this time the Redding Fire Department family is grieving this sudden loss," the union wrote on its Facebook page. "We ask that you respect his families (sp) privacy during this difficult time."
The post says more information would be provided when it was available.
According to the Redding Record Searchlight, Chief Gray began his time with the city in September 2008 as a battalion chief and was promoted to deputy chief before assuming the role of fire chief in July 2015.
"Chief Gray proudly served in the Redding Fire Department alongside the staff he had the utmost respect for," the city said in a statement. "His passion for fire service and the community he served came through every day in all of his communications whether it was in person, tweets, texts or weather updates. Chief Gray was always genuine, caring and had a great sense of humor."
Chief Gray is survived by his three children, whom he often mentioned in his numerous Twitter posts.
"Fires come and go. Disasters come and go. But in the end, my three children will be my legacy," the chief tweeted on May 8.
