Allen Church was just a kid when his dad, a former captain with the Tacoma Fire Department, took him to see the aftermath of the Port of Tacoma Pier 7 fire in July 1963.
Once he saw the scorched engines, the destroyed docks and the blackened debris leftover from the hours-long battle against the flames, Church, who is retiring as South King Fire and Rescue’s fire chief this month, knew this was the career for him.
“As a youngster, he took me down after the fire to show me the incredible damage and several fire engines … got caught in the fire and they were burnt to a crisp. That just stuck with me. Like ‘holy cow, my dad is involved with this?’” Church recalled on a recent morning at his office, choking up at the memory.