It is with great sorrow that Forest Grove Fire & Rescue announces the death of retired Fire Chief Bob Davis. Surrounded by his family, Chief Davis passed away peacefully at his home in rural Forest Grove on the morning of March 1, 2013 after a fight with lung cancer, he was 75. Born on July 29, 1937, Chief Davis came to Forest Grove from California in 1978 after a fire service career that took him from the United States Air Force to the City of Davis, California Fire Department. Between 1978 and his retirement from Forest Grove Fire & Rescue in 2004 he was instrumental in establishing a stable funding source for fire department capital projects such as apparatus and buildings. He led two large fire department construction projects, building a new fire station in Gales Creek in 1981 as well as replacing the fire station in Forest Grove that was damaged by the 1993 Scotts Mills Earthquake. Towards the end of his career, Chief Davis was also the city’s dedicated construction supervisor for both the City of Forest Grove Library and Community Auditorium buildings. After his retirement in 2004 Bob continued to serve the citizens of Forest Grove by serving as an elected director of the Forest Grove Rural Fire Protection District, and in the most recent years he was active as a delivery driver for the local “meals on wheels” program for seniors in our community. Forest Grove Mayor Peter Truax had this to say about the passing of Chief Davis: “Bob Davis' contribution to the safety of the citizens in and around Forest Grove cannot and should not be minimized. He served the City of Forest Grove as Chief of a first class fire department, and, after his retirement, served as an elected official on the Rural Fire Protection District’s Board of Directors. His sense of service was second to none. His influence is still being felt throughout the fire and rescue community. He will be missed”.
Though many of the firefighters in Forest Grove have changed since his retirement in 2004, those who worked under Chief Davis will always remember him as a strong Fire Chief that fought during the tough economic times of the 1980s to keep full time professional firefighters on duty in Forest Grove. He led the department during the time when the Forest Grove Fire Department became Forest Grove Fire & Rescue and was dedicated to the implementation of Paramedics and emergency medical response in our area. Chief Davis was also a strong advocate for fire prevention and safety programs and helped bring programs like elementary school fire safety education in the 1980s, and creating the city’s first Fire Inspector position in 1996.
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| An all staff photo from the late 1990s shows Chief Davis standing on the right side of the middle row |
A public memorial will be held at the Forest Grove Fire Station this coming Saturday (March 9) at 1:00 pm.
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