News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Fire Chief Roger Fuqua will officially retire on June 30 after 6 years in the position.
Fuqua served with the Cookeville Fire Department for 38 years.
“Helping the public, when you come out of a house with somebody’s prized possession and you hand it to them, the look on their face, they could care less about the house. The handshakes and the hugs when you tell someone their family member is safe … you try to focus on that instead of the other,” Fuqua said.
In retirement, Fuqua said he’s looking forward to time with his wife and adult daughter and a lot of uninterrupted sleep.
“You know we run over 2,600 calls a year, so that’s 2,600 times my pager goes off and a lot of them are at night in bed,” Fuqua said.
He’s also looking forward to traveling and playing some golf. An avid golfer, Fuqua said he’s only been able to play a handful of holes since becoming chief.
Fuqua said the most fulfilling part of his job has been education.
Daryl Blair will take over as chief officially on July 1. Unofficially, it’ll be a little earlier than that. Fuqua said he has some vacation time he’ll be taking.
