After nearly three decades of serving the residents of Ironton, Tom Runyon will retire as chief of the Ironton Fire Department.

For 28 years, Runyon has shown his dedication to the city of Ironton by missing many of the things we all sometimes take for granted — quiet dinners with the family, relaxing weekends at home, undisturbed holidays and a good night’s sleep.

As a firefighter and chief, a life of predictability just isn’t in the cards. You’ll never know from one night to the next what will pull you out of bed and have you rushing into action.

Runyon made a career out of that unpredictable, difficult and dangerous profession, with a combined total of 44 years in fire service.

He served the city well and he will be missed by his fellow firefighters, as well as the community.

Runyon also worked well with The Tribune as a communication liaison and no matter how late he worked into the night and morning, he was always willing to speak to our reporters.

The civil service board will have some big shoes to try to fill, but we’re confident its members will chose the most qualified captain in the department to be promoted to chief.

We want to thank Runyon for his years of dedicated service to Ironton and we wish him a quiet and relaxing retirement.