Christenberry retires after 36 years with BNFD
After 36 years with the Benton Fire Department, a retirement ceremony was held for Phillip Christenberry at the River Center on Wednesday.
“It is kind of like a family reunion,” said Fire Chief Russ Evans as he looked at all the retired firefighters who attended.
Evans spoke about how the department loses Christenberry’s dedication and longevity he provided. He thanked Christenberry for his years of service.
Christenberry was hired in 1985. He became an engineer in 1988. He promoted to captain in 1990. He became a fire marshall in 2018. Evans said he enjoyed working along side Christenberry in the fire marshall’s office.
Evans said Christenberry was very good in the fire marshal’s office because he was good with the codes, worked well with city department heads and worked well with people.
Evans said Christenberry was one of the many firefighters known for jokes and pranks. Evans explained whenever Christenberry hid the remote, no one ever found it until he gave it back.
“I enjoyed my job,” Christenberry said.
He said the promotions were not his goal when he was younger. He just wanted to make at least 30 years.
He was presented his golden axe from Benton Firefighters Local 2765, which he used to cut his cake.
Current and retired firefighters shared stories and their experiences with Christenberry during the retirement, including a story about how Christenberry who was cold natured often was blamed for changing the fire house thermostat when others did it.
A few years ago, Christenberry began making a list of all the firefighters he who went through the department during his tenure. As of his last day, 183 people went through.