Dalton Firefighter Promoted, Commended

Tuesday, January 24th, 2023

Tuesday morning was a memorable one for longtime Dalton firefighter Gary Stanley. The nearly 24-year veteran of the Dalton Fire Department was promoted to the rank of lieutenant and also given a commendation for his life-saving heroics at the same time at Tuesday morning's meeting of the Public Safety Commission. 

Caption: Lt. Gary Stanley has his lieutenant's badge pinned to his uniform by his wife Tennie Stanley at Tuesday morning's meeting of the Public Safety Commission

Stanley received a certificate of commendation Tuesday from Dalton fire chief Todd Pangle for his actions on December 17th, 2022. After a car crash near his home in Whitfield County whie off-duty, Stanley ran outside and found a man unconscious and not breathing entrapped in his vehicle. With the aid of another man, Stanley extricated the man from his vehicle and assessed his condition before performing CPR on the patient. Stanley was able to get the patient breathing again by the time paramedics arrived, and the patient ultimately survived. 

"Beyond the shadow of a doubt, I believe that Gary definitely played a huge role in him being able to celebrate Christmas and being able to be home celebrating a new year," Chief Pangle said. 

The commendation came immediately after Stanley received his promotion from the rank of firefighter III to lieutenant. Stanley joined the fire department in April 1999 after serving in the United States Army and also working as a volunteer firefighter with the Whitfield County Fire Department. Since his promotion to firefighter III in October 2009, Stanley often served as a fill-in officer and was a senior firefighter with his shift. Chief Pangle noted in a letter recommending his promotion that "Gary's battalion chief has reported he has become a respected leader among the ranks on his shift." 

Lt. Stanley's promotion was approved by a unanimous vote 4-0 of the Public Safety Commission (Truman Whitfield was unable to attend). This promotion fills the vacated position left by the retirement of Lt. Randy Rogers. 

Below: Lt. Gary Stanley is presented with a certificate of commendation by Chief Todd Pangle at Tuesday morning's meeting