Sad Day in Darke County, Ohio

Retired Fire Chief, Carl "Bud" Gray of the Arcanum Fire Department passed away early Tuesday morning. He was 80 years old. Bud served the village for over 40 years as a firefighter with many of those as chief. He was one old dog who could be taught new tricks. He called me one day and wanted to know if I would be interested in becoming the training officer for the department. He explained that he wasn't very happy with the way things were going. So, began a long relationship for me with the department. I saw it grow and get better at the task at hand. Bud stood by and absorbed it all. He was able to see that modern day fire departments can't operate like they did 20 years ago and then he fixed the problem. I'll miss Bud, as will a lot of other people.

UPDATE: and so on a bright sunny day at the end of November, we laid old Bud to rest. He went out in a red coffin matching the red Chevy Pickup he always drove, on top of Engine 341. Getting that engine rehabbed was his last big project.