Collierville fire chief to retire after 43 years
For more than four decades Collierville Fire Chief Buddy Billings has served the town, fought flames and brought people together.
But this summer, he’ll step back from chief and retire to his Fayette County farm where he and his wife raise their cows, horses and mules. His last day is June 30.
“I never dreamed 44 years ago I would ever be the chief,” Billings, 62, said. “That was the ultimate honor to my career.”
Billings began his career with Collierville as a police dispatcher in 1978 then transferred to the fire department in 1979 as a fire private. By 1995 he was promoted to fire marshal, a goal of his.
“I was just looking for a job with a steady pay check and a future retirement, and a way to provide for my family,” he said.
Billings has remained with the fire department for 43 years with the last six years as chief, climbing from the bottom to the top, he said.
He compared the role of fire chief to a football coach, leading the team to preparedness and safety.
“It’s a very humbling position because when I came into it I thought I knew and I thought I could step in and just make drastic worldly changes, and it just don’t work that way,” he said.
“In the past six years we’ve accomplished a number of things that I’m proud of,” he said, listing off the department’s work including stepping into the ambulance business, starting the design phases of a new fire station, adding an additional ladder truck, starting a boat rescue team and attaining new equipment.
“On the downside I have a lot of memories of calls, of course the Sept. 23 call with the shooting at Kroger was something I always keep in my mind,” Billings said. “Our men and women didn’t hesitate that day and with the grace of God, and their training, I’d like to believe they saved 14 people’s lives.”
A 29-year-old gunman, who worked as a third-party sushi vendor at the 240 New Byhalia Road Kroger, opened fire inside the store Sept. 23 after he was asked to leave that morning. The shooter returned to the store in the afternoon and shot 15 people, killing Olivia King then killing himself.
Billings emphasized his thanks to the board of mayor and aldermen for helping the fire department prosper in safety and efficiency, especially right before the mass shooting.
“We had asked for equipment for such an incident (the Kroger shooting) like bullet proof vests for all the firemen,” he said. “The board stepped forward and bought those and we had trained with the police department a few months before (the shooting).”
Billings decided in January 2021 to retire from the fire department but wanted to tie up some loose ends before officially leaving, and making way for “young blood in here with some new fresh ideas.”
“I’ve had some health issues, nothing that serious but enough to open my eyes a little bit to realize there’s more to life than working for the rest of your life,” he said. “I’m not as sharp as I used to be to be honest, brain don’t work as good as it used to.”
Collierville is currently accepting applications for the fire chief position. Billings said the candidate should have an emergency management background, be well versed in the medical field, “a good people pleaser,” and be able to carry the department to the next level. Billings hopes the next stage of his life will include relaxation, more time with his wife and grandson, traveling, tending to his farm and “just looking at the world in a different view.”
Dima Amro covers the suburbs for The Commercial Appeal and can be reached at Dima.amro@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @Amrodima.