Crescent City officially welcomed William “Bill” Gillespie as its permanent fire chief in a ceremony Jan. 21 during the city council meeting.Gillespie has served as Crescent City’s interim fire chief since April 2018, when he replaced Steve Wakefield after medical issues forced him to step down.Crescent City Manager Eric Wier said Gillespie becomes only the sixth fire chief to take the oath of office since the city’s fire department was established in 1900.#placement_573654_0_i{width:100%;max-width:550px;margin:0 auto;}var rnd = window.rnd || Math.floor(Math.random()*10e6);var pid573654 = window.pid573654 || rnd;var plc573654 = window.plc573654 || 0;var abkw = window.abkw || '';var absrc = 'https://ads.empowerlocal.co/adserve/;ID=181918;size=0x0;setID=573654;type=js;sw='+screen.width+';sh='+screen.height+';spr='+window.devicePixelRatio+';kw='+abkw+';pid='+pid573654+';place='+(plc573654++)+';rnd='+rnd+';click=CLICK_MACRO_PLACEHOLDER';var _absrc = absrc.split("type=js"); absrc = _absrc[0] + 'type=js;referrer=' + encodeURIComponent(document.location.href) + _absrc[1];document.write('');Wier said Gillespie brings with him 32 years of experience, beginning with a bachelor’s degree in occupational studies with a focus on emergency services from California State University, Long Beach.He subsequently graduated from the National Fire Academy’s executive fire officer program and went on to log 20 years working in the City of Eureka Fire Department.“The fire district is unique and is facing unique challenges. We had to have that right fit. Bill came to us in a time of tremendous transition, one in which he had tremendous boots to fill,” Wier said.“When we first went through Chief Wakefield’s sudden medical emergency, and trying to figure out our next phase of keeping this volunteer fire department going, it was actually Chief Wakefield who told me after his first stroke, ‘If you can get Chief Gillespie to come in, you would be in good hands. This department will prosper because of that,’” Wier recalled.Gillespie initially told Wier he couldn’t commit long-term to the interim position and would probably only be here for six months. “We’re now two years later, and he has committed to being our long-term chief.“I think that says a lot about Chief Gillespie as well as about our fire department. We have gone through a lot of challenges. This department has stepped up tremendously. We’re very fortunate for the volunteers that we have,” Wier said.After his swearing-in ceremony, Gillespie credited his colleagues in the fire department. “Really, the big piece of this team, or family, are the folks you see lining the walls and seated here, the folks who are in blue, who day in and day out demonstrate the service above self, that keep this community safe, that a of times this community, unless it’s in times of need, forgets about,” Gillespie said.“It’s an honor to be able to serve with the members of the city team, the city staff, city council, district board and also our allied agency members.” googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('ad-1515727'); });