by Malcolm Butler
The Lincoln Parish first responder family and the city of Ruston were shaken Tuesday with the tragic news that Ruston Fire Department Chief Chris Womack passed away following a brief illness.
Just a few months after being diagnosed with cancer during a new-mandatory state cancer screening, Womack fell victim to the awful disease.
Ruston mayor Ronny Walker was proud to call Womack a friend and a colleague.
“Chris was my first leadership hire when I became mayor,” said Walker, who made the appointment in 2015. “His leadership of that department is unparalleled. He was a tough chief, but his people respected him because he was so fair and so honest. He will be greatly missed by Ronny Walker, and by the City of Ruston.”
Womack, a 1989 Ruston High School graduate, began his career with the Ruston Fire Department in the early 1990s and slowly, but steadily, worked his way up the ladder.
“As he grew up in that department, and I do mean grew up, from entrance level firefighter to driver to captain, he was seeing things from a professional level all along the way,” said Lincoln Parish Director of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness Kip Franklin. “That carried over to his training officer position, and then when he made chief. He has turned the Ruston Fire Department into the most professional fire department in the state of Louisiana.”
Franklin served on the Ruston Fire Department with Womack for almost two decades, serving as his fire district chief along the way.
“When the RFD personnel go on scene, they are some of the most professional and courteous first responders you will ever interact with,” said Franklin. We have a lot of great first responders in Lincoln Parish, but that department is a reflection of Chris’s leadership.”
During his time as Fire Chief, Womack’s leadership helped bring the RFD to a Class 1 rating. He was also instrumental in paving the way for the construction of Fire Station #2 and the construction of the fire tower for training. He also started the Fire Prevention Bureau.
Lincoln Parish Sheriff Stephen Williams began his employment with the LPSO in 1993, thus he and Womack’s career’s had similar timetables.
“We have come up through the ranks together,” said Williams. “Chris has always been a super polite, super professional guy. He would do anything in the world to help you. He was a man’s man.
“They are certainly going to have a hard time replacing him.”
Outside of Womack’s family, the loss may be felt the hardest within the Ruston Fire Department family.
David Wells, Director of Emergency Medical Services for the Ruston Fire Department, spoke of the privilege of working and learning under Womack’s tutelage.
“It was an absolute honor to serve under him as one of his chief officers,” said Wells. “Not only did he make me a better firefighter and a better chief officer, but he made me a better man, a better husband, and a better father.
“One of the reasons that I went to work for Chief Womack is because I knew he would hold me accountable. I knew he would push me to be better than I thought I could be.”
Wells joined many of the first responders in the area in paying their respects to Womack over the last couple of days, a moving tribute according to Franklin.
“It’s a huge loss,” said Franklin. “A huge loss. It was so moving and an illustration of his impact when I was at the hospital Monday. To see the on-duty and off-duty Ruston Fire Department personnel coming by to pay their last respects to their chief … it’s hard to describe without getting emotional about it.
“Those guys and women were coming into the room, laying their hands on his hand, and paying their respects. They were saying goodbye. It was so moving.”
Womack leaves a legacy, not only in Lincoln Parish, but within the state, according to all who knew him. He was a Louisiana Fire Chief Board Member, and he sat on the state’s Fire Certification Advisory Committee. He also served on the 911 Commission.
“This was not only a big loss for our fire department, but it was a big loss for the Fire Service of Louisiana,” said Wells.
Walker said he would appoint an interim fire chief but that he would wait until Womack has been laid to rest.
Womack turned 54 yesterday.
