Rural Metro fire chief to retire after 43 years

JOSEPHINE COUNTY, Ore. – There will soon be a new fire chief for Rural Metro Fire in Josephine County.

Phil Turnbull is retiring after 43 years as fire chief.

He’s been with rural metro for almost it’s whole existence.

He says after he battled cancer and won last year, he decided to retire.

“It’s been a real privilege and adventure in this career,” Turnbull said. “I feel blessed to have had the experiences that I‘ve had. Work with people that I got to work with and I‘m feel really good about stepping out at this time.”

Turnbull’s last day as chief will be April 1.

He said the department is in great shape, as assistant chief Steve Nelson, will take over his position next month.

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NBC5 News reporter Zachary Larsen grew up in Surprise, Arizona. He graduated from Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism. At ASU, Zack interned at Arizona Sports 98.7FM and Softball America. During his Junior year, Zack joined the ASU Sports Bureau. He covered the Fiesta Bowl, the Phoenix Open and major basketball tournaments. Zack enjoys working out, creative writing, music, and rooting for his ASU Sun Devils.
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