COPPERAS COVE, Texas (KXXV) — After more than three decades of service, Copperas Cove Fire Chief Gary Young is preparing to retire later this month.
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“On Friday, September the 22nd, 1989, I tried out to be a firefighter. They called me that afternoon, and said, ‘We’d like for you to come and work for us.’ I went into my boss's office – Lori Bishop – and I was working at an auto parts store in Killeen, and I told her, ‘They want me to come and be a firefighter. I need to give you two weeks' notice.’ She said, ‘No need – go start your career.’ So the next morning, I went to work at 7 o’clock and started my career,” Young said.
Since then, Young has seen the community through countless milestones.
“I’ve been there for several births, I’ve been there for many deaths. I was the first face that a newborn would see, and the last face that an adult would see many times. My eyes have seen many things that my brain will never forget,” he said.
Young said his retirement will fall on the exact anniversary of his first day on the job.
“It’s very important to me to hit it exactly on the exact day that I came in, is the exact day that I am leaving, on the actual anniversary. So that will be the 23rd of this month, that will be my actual last day,” he said.
Reflecting on his career, Young recalled both tragic and joyful memories.
“The day the massacre occurred at Luby’s, I was working. We didn't respond, but we were next up. The day the shooting took place on Fort Hood, November the 5th, I went, I was there, I helped coordinate,” Young said.
He also remembered lighter moments at the fire station.
“We were at the fire station one December day, and it was cold as it could be, and we hear a ‘bang, bang, bang’ on the door. We open the door and a gentleman says, a lady in my car is having a baby!” he said.
As he closes this chapter, Young said he hopes his years of service leave a lasting mark on Copperas Cove.
“All of the people I've ever tried to influence is, we have to be there. The community depends upon us. We’ve got to take care of them when they can’t take care of themselves or even at the worst moment of their life,” he said.
The Copperas Cove Fire Department will host a come-and-go retirement reception for Young at Fire Station 1 on Friday, beginning at 3 p.m.
