By FireRescue1 Staff
WICHITA, Kan. — Colleagues are mourning the unexpected death of a veteran firefighter who died Wednesday.
Wichita firefighter Collis Grisby, 53, was well-known throughout the department and community, reported the Wichita Eagle.
“He was always a welcoming person and he always had a smile on his face,” Battalion Chief Stuart Bevis said. “I never heard a bad word about him. He will certainly be missed.”
Grisby began his firefighting career in 1993; he leaves behind a son.
Troy Franklin, a fellow firefighter and barber of Grisby’s, said he was a family man and cared deeply for his son. Grisby’s wife, Appel, died during a summer family vacation in 2015.
“He was just in here last week,” Franklin said. “Everybody in here knew him. We’re all pretty shook up about it. He had to have been one of the best-liked firefighters on the department.”
An outpouring of support and condolences have been posted on Grisby’s Facebook page, where one colleague called him “the most respected firefighter.”
“I can’t think of one bad thing he ever said about anyone,” Capt. Tyler Nolan said. “We’re getting through it, but it’s tough. If you needed a pick-me-up, Collis was your man. As a firefighter, he’d go through a door or a wall for you.”
Services will be held Feb. 1.
https://twitter.com/WichitaFireDept/status/824327173804851203 https://twitter.com/DerbyKSFireBuff/status/824059037482369025 https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10211247969855687&set=p.10211247969855687&type=3&theater https://www.facebook.com/collis.grisby.7/posts/10155698273843835 https://www.facebook.com/collis.grisby.7/posts/10155697606503835