COLUMBIA, MO. -- Chief Bill Markgraf is retiring from the Columbia Fire Department after 22 years of service.
Markgraf saw a lot of growth during his tenure.
Markgraf said it has been an honor to serve the citizens of Columbia for the past 22 years.
The retiring chief began his career 55 years ago. Markgraf also served as the Director of Fire Science at Columbia College and was the Fire Chief of University City, Missouri during the late seventies. The retiring firefighter, 73, said he’ll miss the people he works with every day.
Markgraf said, “We’ve had support from past and present city managers. We’ve had support from councils and mayors. Probably the most important thing has been the support from our customers. It’s their fire department. We are just the caretakers, you know.”
Markgraf has been the Columbia Fire Chief since 1988. Now that’s he’s retiring, the Chief and his wife, Linda, plan to remain in Columbia when they are not traveling around the world.
Margraf said, “We just got back from Beijing a month or so ago. We try to do one of those trips whenever the credit card will let us and the airline has a cheap fare.”
Markgraf was a hands-on fire chief and helped fight hundreds of Columbia fires. Near the end of his career, the Chief said he was more of a hazard than a help and finally decided to put away his helmet and hose.
Deputy Chief Chuck Witt is in charge of the Columbia Fire Department’s day to day operations until city officials appoint a new fire chief.
Markgraf officially retires on March 5.
You can read Mark Slavit’s entire article with Markgraf in this month edition of Inside Columbia Magazine.
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