After a long and storied career of braving the kind of danger most people flee from, Robert Dillard retired April 1.
Dillard has worn many hats throughout his life; he was a firefighter for 39 years and since 2001 had been the Attalla Fire & Rescue chief. Dillard also worked nights as a paramedic in Gadsden, doing two jobs for a good chunk of his life.
In addition, he also has taught at Gadsden State, Northeast Community College in Rainsville, Shelton State and the Alabama Fire College in Tuscaloosa, covering subjects ranging from EMT training to firefighting to domestic terrorism training. I ve performed approximately 260 classes in terrorism education all throughout the state and Southeast, Dillard said. Some of my best memories were performing at military installations for the state Fire College, going to Redstone Arsenal and the Marines logistic base in Albany, Georgia.