Farewell to the chief of the Fire Department! – Columns – Erzurum Pusula Newspaper

I also knew İsmail Çelik, who is better known as an educator, closely. Especially during the presidency of Prof. Dr. Ersan Gemalmaz, when he came from the Directorate of National Education to Erzurum Metropolitan Municipality as the Head of the Fire Department, we would see him in uniform, especially on important days, and we were very surprised. We were surprised because we had never seen any Fire Chief or Head of Department in such a uniform before. In fact, whoever saw him in his uniform like that would immediately have a smile on his face, he would laugh and could not hide his surprise. The usual uniforms were usually military commanders, and since they were usually without moustaches, someone with a mustache would create surprise in such a uniform. He would appear on fire days, dignitaries’ receptions, and national holidays without paying attention to the surprises around him, and it was immediately obvious that he was at least very happy in his uniform. He liked to be called “Fire Brigade Pasha”, he carried the weight of that uniform and gave it a much different meaning. From time to time, he would go home after work wearing this outfit, and the next day he would return to his workplace wearing the same outfit. Even though fire department heads also had the habit of wearing uniforms, we never saw them in any of them after that. He was 76 years old. He retired a while ago and was struggling with health problems. I was very sad when I heard the news of his death recently. We chatted two or three days before Ramadan, talked about old times, and also talked about the uniform issue. Brother İsmail Çelik had a colorful personality, may God rest him in peace. There was a pleasant sound in this remaining dome.

Vedat Refayeli