Date of Birth: 6/20/1964

Last Call: 7/2/2018

Chief Gerry Gray began his fire service career in 1988, working as a seasonal firefighter with Lassen National Forest. After graduating the Shasta College Fire Academy, he was hired by the Red Bluff Fire Department where he promoted to the position of Chief. In 2008, Gerry began his career with the City of Redding Fire Department, accepting a position as a battalion chief. He 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, Christopher, Emilia, and Chloe.

“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.