Sophia fire chief laid to rest

SOPHIA, W.Va — Services for Sophia City Fire & Rescue chief Jeff Pittman were held Tuesday afternoon.

The 54-year-old had dedicated 36 years of fire and EMS service before passing last Friday from a stroke.  He had fought illness for over a year.  Those who knew Pittman describe him as a nurturing person who went above the call of duty to help.  He always carried a smile and was also known to help the elderly during snowstorms.

According to his obituary, Pittman has held several community roles.   In addition to being the city’s fire chief for 30 years, he also served on the Sophia City Council and was a city judge.  His tenure as a paramedic spanned across Sophia Ambulance, Emergency One, Am Star, Jan Care, Medic Alert, McDowell Authority, Alert One, and Best Ambulance.  He also owned and operated Emergency Response Ambulance.

When Pittman wasn’t saving lives, he was a fire and EMS instructor.  Any spare time he had was spent being present in the community.  This included the many organizations he was a member of including Masons, Shriners, Scottish Rite, Civil Air Patrol, Jaycees and the Sophia Spirit Community.

Sophia City Fire assistant chief Ken Churning told The Register-Herald earlier this week support has poured in from all over the nation including New York City and Los Angeles.  The department’s Facebook page was full of supportive comments in the days leading up to the service.  A Tuesday post from the department expressed gratitude for everyone’s support.

“Today, we laid our brother, our friend, our mentor, our hero, our Chief, to rest,” the post read.  “We at Sophia City want to personally thank everyone who has helped us in any way through this difficult time.  Rest easy chief, we’ll take it from here.”

Services took place Tuesday afternoon at the Family Worship Center in Beckley.  Numerous police, fire and EMS personnel attended.  All contributions will be given to the Shriners Hospital for Children.  Pittman is survived by his wife and three children.





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