Hoover Fire Department says goodbye to Chief Chuck Wingate

Several hundred people gathered at Hoover Fire Station No. 4 on Municipal Drive this afternoon to wish Hoover fire Chief Chuck Wingate a happy retirement.

Wingate has been with the department 42 years and spent time before that with the Bluff Park Fire District before Bluff Park was annexed into Hoover. He started out as one of the department’s first paramedics and rose through the ranks to become chief in 2009 when former Chief Tom Bradley retired.

His last official day is Aug. 31, but today was his last day working in the office.

Today, he said his goodbyes, surrounded by his family, many Fire Department and other current and former city employees, current and former Hoover mayors, and colleagues from surrounding fire departments and companies that work with fire departments.

Hoover Fire Department Emergency Medical Services Officer Rusty Lowe said Wingate has always been there to support firefighters, providing things they needed to do their jobs and being there for them when they were ill or injured.

Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato, who worked alongside Wingate for many years in the Fire Department and under him for several years, said Wingate has been an incredible leader who loved the Fire Department and city as a whole and who always demanded the best from his employees.

Wingate always made sure the department was well-equipped and is leaving it in the best shape possible, having overseen recent efforts to obtain a Class 1 rating from the Insurance Services Office — something only 12 of the 1,500 fire departments in Alabama have achieved, Brocato said.

“We’ve had our bumps along the way, but we have always risen to never forget that we are friends and we’re working together to make sure our city is in great shape and make sure our Fire Department is in great shape,” Brocato said.

City Administrator Allan Rice, who worked under Wingate’s command for most of his former career with the Fire Department, said Wingate at first intimidated him as a young firefighter, but he is proud of the work they were able to accomplish together through the years.

Wingate thanked all the people who worked with him in his career for the dedication they have shown.

He particularly thanked former Bluff Park fire Chief Hoyt Ayers for teaching him as a 15-year-old boy how the fire service is about serving people and former Hoover Chief Ralph Sheppard for giving him a chance as a 20-year-old to join a rapidly-developing fire and emergency medical services department.

Wingate also thanked former Hoover Chief Tom Bradley for giving him a chance to initiate ideas for improving training, emergency medical services and fire prevention.

“There hasn’t been a day in my 42 years that I didn’t want to come to work here because I love my job and enjoy working with all of y’all,” Wingate said. “You’ve been my second family. You’re supported me in my career and my personal life. You’ve listened to my stories about my children and grandchildren, and you were there for me when my parents died. I’m so proud and humbled to be given the job of fire chief of this great department, and I leave here knowing that it will continue to grow.”