After four decades with the department, Marietta’s fire chief has announced he will retire before the end of the year.
The city said that Jackie Gibbs has decided his last day will be Dec. 1.
“It is with mixed emotions that I announce my retirement,” Gibbs said in a news release. “It has been my great pleasure to serve the citizens of Marietta ... The support I have received from the fine employees of the city working together to accomplish the mission will always be a part of my memories. Thank you to one and all.”
Marietta spokeswoman Lindsey Wiles said the city will advertise the position after the first of the year, making it open to candidates local and national.
Once applications are received, they will be reviewed and candidates will be interviewed by a board of fire service and city government staff that city manager Bill Bruton will put together.
Finalists will undergo additional interviews and background checks before Bruton makes the recommendation. It’s up to the city council to approve the recommendation.
Deputy Chief Danny Rackley will serve as acting chief when Gibbs leaves Dec. 1.
Gibbs joined the department Aug. 11, 1977 at the age of 19.
Since then, the Marietta native played roles in all levels of fire service safety advocacy.
Gibbs served on the International Association of Fire Chiefs Board of Directors from 2004 to 2007. He currently sits on the International Code Council's Fire Service Membership Council and was appointed to the Georgia Firefighters Standards and Training Council by Gov. Nathan Deal.
Credit: ANDY SHARP
Credit: ANDY SHARP
Back at home, Gibbs helped implement the city's fire sprinkler ordinance in 1989, which improved the safety of all buildings constructed after the ordinance was passed, the city said.
He was the city’s fire marshal from 1987 to 1999.
In December 1999 at age 41, Gibbs was appointed fire chief.
At the time, he told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the challenges he faced were things like providing protection to the growing city and bringing more “computer technology to firefighters’ fingertips.”
Gibbs was interviewed in 1985 as a city fire inspector on how folks could not burn their homes down, describing tips he used at the fireplace in the den of his own house on Whitlock Avenue west of downtown.
But he also had a word to say about smoking.
“We've seen people killed sitting in their chairs holding a cigarette when they've fallen asleep.”
The piece went on.
"Awkward though it may seem, Gibbs advises smokers to make it a habit to hold their cigarette between the middle and ring finger. If the hand is relaxed, the cigarette will not fall from between the fingers."
Noted, chief.
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