An Oregon fire chief who spent more than 40 years in the fire service has died.
Stan Gibson, who retired in 2014 after serving over 16 years as Coos Bay's fire chief, passed away July 16 in Springfield, according to his obituary. He was 68.
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Gibson began his firefighting career in Indiana as a Union City firefighter. He then worked as a training officer with the Indiana State Fire Marshal's office and later becoming the director of training and education.
After a stint as Perry Township's chief of training in Indianapolis, he became the Coos Bay fire chief in 1997. Kidney failure forced Gibson to retire in 2014.
“This is not my choice to retire at this time,” he told The Brandon Western World at the time. “I wanted to work a couple more years, but my medical condition has forced me to make a decision.”
One of the darkest days for the department happened in 2002 when an auto body shop fire killed three firefighters. Randall Carpenter and Jeffery Edward Common died at the scene when the roof collapse, and Robert Charles Hanner was pronounced dead at the hospital.
In the aftermath, Gibson oversaw the creation of a task force to review the department's accountability systems. He also initiated the creation of additional training programs for firefighters.
Along with his work with various departments, Gibson was a nationally recognized instructor with the National Fire Academy and the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.
