Assistant Fire Chief Robert Black is retiring from the City of Stillwater after nearly 29 years of dedicated service to the community.
“Working as a staff officer has given me many opportunities to work with City staff and members of the community, and I have found it very rewarding,” Black said. “I have made lots of friends, had many mentors and met many role models within the fire service that have helped me get to retirement.”
Black’s career began in 1984 at Maramec Volunteer Fire Department where his father Harvey retired as fire chief. The City of Stillwater hired Black in September 1989.
Black was a fire and rescue instructor on A-shift for six years. He was an instructor and squad leader on the Tulsa Task Force 1, and a responder to Joplin after an F5 tornado hit the community.
Black was promoted to chief of training in December 2008. One of his greatest achievements was the acquisition of the fire department’s training facility.
In 2010, the City purchased a data management system, which stores records of all emergency incidents, training and inventory for the fire department. Black became the lead administrator of the system for the fire department.
He was promoted to assistant chief of the department in November 2014.
He also received the Firefighter of the Year award in 1992 for his fundraising efforts with the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
“I want to commend Assistant Chief Black for an incredible career committed to the safety of Stillwater,” Fire Chief Tom Bradley said. “He has played a vital role on the fire department’s leadership team over the years and is a great role model for our firefighters. His contributions to the department will continue to benefit our team and the community even after his retirement.”
Black has a family of public servants. His father was a fire chief, his oldest son Evan is a detention officer for Payne County Sheriff’s Office and his middle son Trent is a firefighter in Nichols Hills. His daughter-in law Jacque is a police and fire dispatcher for the Stillwater Police Department. His wife Heather is a teacher at Meridian Technology Center. Their youngest son Hunter is majoring in agriculture communications at Eastern Oklahoma State University.
His last day is Jan. 31, 2018. Black and his wife plan to travel around the country with their fifth wheel trailer, all-terrain vehicles and Jeep.