Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Cody Davis remembers going through the Firefighter One course. He was 16 and Dallas Tinsley was one of the instructors that helped lead him in the right direction. That guidance didn’t stop after the course was over.

“Since then, Chief Tinsley has instructed me in a number of courses. His knowledge, support, and positive attitude have been instrumental to my career,” said Davis, who now serves as Buckingham County’s Director of Emergency Services. “As I now begin to instruct for VDFP, it is instructors and Chief Officers like Tinsley that I aspire to imitate.” 

Anywhere you go in Prince Edward and the surrounding counties, you’ll find people with similar stories, folks who share how Dallas Tinsley, over his 50 years of service at Darlington Heights Volunteer Fire Department, have helped make them better firefighters and just better people overall. Members of his department and people from around the county gathered together on Sunday, Aug. 25 to celebrate the 50-year milestone with their Chief. 

“Fifty years in the service and serving at the capacity that he serves- it is hard to fathom how many lives he’s touched and improved,” Davis said.  

His comments were echoed by Prince Edward County Supervisor Llew W. Gilliam Jr., himself a member of the Darlington Heights department. Gilliam has known Tinsley for several decades, both as a fellow member of the department and as a friend. 

“I have known Dallas Tinsley for over 50 years, and we have been in the fire department together for about 48 years,” Gilliam said. “He is one of the finest men I have ever known and one of the finest friends I have ever had. Dallas served our country in Vietnam and has been a major contributor to our community and the people in it.  We are deeply grateful to him for his extraordinary lifetime of service.” 

Keeping a secret

Sunday’s event wasn’t posted on social media or otherwise broadcast because everyone involved with organizing it wanted it to be a surprise. And they did catch Tinsley off guard for a minute, as his wife Betty had told him they were going to a reunion. But it speaks to how beloved Dallas Tinsley is in the area when you don’t have to make a big announcement and yet you could still find a crowd there on Sunday, ready to greet him as he and Betty walked through those doors.

“I would simply say that Chief Dallas Tinsley has been a fixture in the volunteer fire service for as long as I can remember,” said Toga Volunteer Fire Department Chief Brian Bates. “He has generously shared his knowledge with multiple generations of volunteers through classes and fellowship. Chief Tinsley is a treasure to the citizens of Central Virginia.”

That was echoed by Prince Edward County Sheriff Tony Epps, who has known Tinsley a long time. 

“Dallas and I have been friends since I started in law enforcement over 35 years ago,” Epps said. “He has always been a class act firefighter and a pillar in the Darlington Heights area. I have enjoyed working with him and hope to continue to for years to come.”

Dallas Tinsley, a constant through the decades

Farmville Police Chief Andy Ellington has known Dallas Tinsley for decades, ever since Andy was a teenager in high school. 

“What I know best about Dallas is his love and compassion for firefighting,” Ellington said. “He has always been the guy that is willing to help and give back to his community, most of all the guy that loves to teach others. Dallas has been a huge asset not only for his community but also for the Prince Edward Firefighters association. Dallas’s knowledge and experience has taken us a long way. I am certainly proud to call Dallas Tinsley my friend.”

Fellow firefighters recall back to the times when people had to get them out of the fields because most of them were farmers. They recall decades of fighting fires in everything from triple digit temperatures to cold below freezing. And most of all, they recall the man who was a constant through the decades at Darlington Heights.

“Fifty years is not just a number; it’s a reflection of countless lives touched and a remarkable legacy of community service that Chief Dallas Tinsely built one day and one response at a time,” said Prince Edward County Administrator Doug Stanley. “His further gift to the region is that Dallas has trained and mentored several generations of firefighters, instilling in them the same values of courage, teamwork, and integrity that have defined his career. On behalf of the entire County, I wish to express our deepest appreciation to Chief Tinsely. His extraordinary dedication and exceptional leadership are a beacon of hope and inspiration to us all.”