Command terminated, return to family.
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on November 26, 2017 3:05 AM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Goldsboro Fire Department Chief Gary Whaley smiles as he is recognized during a recent Goldsboro City Council meeting for his 35 years of service. Whaley will retire on Dec. 1.
Gary Whaley always wanted to be a firefighter.
He developed a fascination with the fire service at an early age.
And he wasted no time breaking into the field.
At 17, he joined the Polly Watson Fire Department.
Then at 18, he switched over to the Rosewood Fire Department.
And as soon as he was old enough -- at 20 -- he joined the Goldsboro Fire Department.
He's been there ever since.
Whaley's seen the unthinkable and the mundane in his 35 years of service, responding to some of the biggest fires the city has ever seen and finding himself on the front lines of natural disasters.
Now, at 55 years old, he's ready for his next adventure.
On Friday, Whaley will pack up his gear and roll away from fire station in downtown Goldsboro for the last time as chief of the department.
He'll leave the department in the capable hands of James Farfour, an assistant fire chief who will serve as interim fire chief as the job goes through the application process.
Whaley has been at the scene of many major fires over the years.
He was at the burning of a door company in 1982, right after he began his career.
"I had been here a month and that fire's always stuck out in my mind because you knew you were a rookie and all the sudden you're about to put all your training into play," Whaley said.
And as he's worked his way up the ladder, it seems each rank has had a significant fire attached to the promotion in his mind.
After starting as a firefighter in August 1982, he was promoted to fire engineer in April 1994. From there, he worked his way up to captain in February of '97, quickly being promoted to assistant fire chief of training in April '98, before being promoted again to assistant fire chief of operations in November '99.
It was while holding the title of assistant fire chief of operations that he would see the burning of the Paramount Theatre in downtown Goldsboro -- a blaze that burned a hole into the soul of the city.
"If I had to pick one that stood out more than anything, it's the Goldsboro Paramount," Whaley said. "We were very fortunate we didn't lose the whole block."
The theatre was built in 1882 at 139 S. Center St., and was used by theater groups for plays, dance recitals, beauty pageants, town hall meetings and a whole host of other performances, right up until its destruction
More than 60 firefighters from all three shifts of the city's five stations at the time responded to an alarm called in by a passing police officer. New Hope, Rosewood and Elroy firefighters assisted at the scene. Mar Mac and Pinewood firefighters filled in at city fire stations to answer other calls.
The blaze was eventually extinguished, with minimal damage to surrounding buildings.
The theater has, of course, been rebuilt since the flames scorched the building to its shell, and continues to operate today.
But it is in fires like that -- the ones that seem bigger than should be possible -- that Whaley forged his leadership style that sets him apart.
He was promoted to fire chief in July 2009, and took to surrounding himself with good people -- and he was never shy about asking questions to clear up things he was unsure about.
"For me it's always been that I don't -- as chief or assistant chief, as an officer making decisions about those fires -- I don't make a decision that's going to get somebody killed. That I covered all my bases, safety-wise," Whaley said. "When I was a firefighter and I had a big fire, I just wanted to do my job and do it right. If it was extending a hose or catching a hydrant, then I done it right. I done it like it was supposed to be done. If anything was wrong, it wasn't going to be my fault that I did it wrong. When I got into the officer level and was making decisions on fires, I just wanted to make sure everybody got back home. I think that's always been my biggest fear, is that I make a decision that gets somebody hurt, or gets somebody injured or they lose their life because of a decision I made. I always overcome that fear with knowing we had good people, and knowing they were well trained. It didn't bother me not to know everything. I wasn't a know-it-all or that kind of thing."
And now with the major fires behind him and years of soot and ash coating his turnout gear, Whaley is excited about the prospect of retiring. He said he will likely continue to manage a mobile home park for his father, give flight lessons and work as a special deputy for the Wayne County Sheriff's Office.
"I always knew coming to that point there would be some sadness and anxiety over it, but I'm actually excited for it. I'm actually excited about moving on, which is strange because I didn't think I would be as excited as I am, but I feel like it's the best time," Whaley said. "The Lord's gave me a lot of peace over it, and I've trusted a lot in my faith and felt like I prayed about it. And once I made my decision I really made peace about it, and so I'm excited to do it. Is there any fear? Yeah. I'm still a little fearful. I think my sadness will be just over leaving my staff and leaving my department."
And he'll leave quite the legacy behind -- one that speaks to how invested he was in keeping his brothers and sisters on the department safe and taken care of, both when they were battling fires and when they were battling personal trials.
"I just wanted them to know I cared. I cared about whether they enjoyed the job or not, I cared about their health, I cared about their lives. I wanted to make sure they had the best equipment for them," Whaley said. "I guess, when I leave here I just want people to say I cared, it doesn't make a difference about anything else."