Roanoke County mourns loss of former fire chief Tommy Fuqua
ROANOKE COUNTY, Va. (WFXR) – The Roanoke County Fire Department is saddened to announce the passing of its esteemed former Fire Chief, Tommy Fuqua, on May 24.
The department said retired Fire Chief Tommy Fuqua passed away at his Roanoke County home on Saturday after a battle with cancer. He survives with his wife, Hazel, and two children.
(Photo Credit: Roanoke County Fire and Rescue)
Fuqua served the Roanoke Valley community as a firefighter for 26 years. His career began in 1961 when he became a volunteer firefighter with the Vinton Volunteer Fire Department at the age of 17.
He then moved into career roles, first in 1971 with the Veterans Administration, and then in 1977 when he served with Roanoke County and as the Volunteer Chief of the Clearbrook Volunteer Fire Department.
In 1981, Fuqua became the fire and rescue coordinator for Roanoke County before the official formation of the Roanoke County Fire and Rescue Department in 1986, when he was appointed as the Chief of the department. While Chief of Roanoke County Fire and Rescue, Fuqua was involved with several 'historic' events, including the Flood of 1985 and the fire at the Shenandoah Homes retirement community in 1989.
The department highlights that fire is still used as a case study at the National Fire Academy to this day.
In 1996, Fuqua stepped down as Chief of RCFRD but remained employed as Battalion Chief for Training and Operations before retiring in 2003.
After retirement from Roanoke County, Fuqua became an instructor, teaching classes at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland, and for the Virginia Department of Fire Programs. Chief Fuqua served on many fire service boards and committees and was the interim Chief for a brief while in Botetourt County.
Visitation is scheduled from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, May 28, at Simpson Funeral Home at 5160 Peters Creek Road.
Visitor parking will be located at Roanoke County's Green Ridge Recreation Center at 7415 Wood Haven Road, with shuttle buses running to Simpson Funeral Home.
Chief Fuqua's funeral will be held with departmental honors at 1 p.m. on Thursday, May 29, at Roanoke's First Baptist Church at 321 Marshall Avenue in downtown Roanoke, followed by interment at Mountain View Cemetery in Vinton.
The department asks anyone who would like to donate pictures for use during his funeral to send them by noon on Tuesday, May 27, to simpsonfuneralphotos@gmail.com.
Fire departments wishing to send personnel and apparatus to the funeral should contact Battalion Chief Sizemore at dsizemore@roanokecountyva.gov. Any fire departments wishing to send honor guard personnel to the visitation and funeral should contact Chad Epperly at cepperly@roanokecountyva.gov.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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