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Chief Michael Bock to retire; Coffee County EMS board narrows director qualifications and names interim chief
Summary
Chief Michael Bock submitted a retirement notice effective July 31, 2026. The board approved amended director qualifications (six years emergency response, three years supervisory, paramedic required) and nominated Paul Tibbs as interim chief.
Chief Michael Bock notified the Coffee County EMS board on July 16 that he intends to retire, and the board moved quickly to update the director job description and appoint interim leadership.
Chief Michael Bock read a letter to the board stating, “I intend to retire from my position as chief of Coffee County EMS. My last day of work will be 07/31/2026,” and briefly reflected on 13 years as chief and 26 years in EMS.
Board members discussed prerequisites for the next director at length, focusing on section 8 of the job description (qualifications). Members agreed to remove ambiguous language about an “equivalent combination of education and experience,” set a firm expectation of six years of emergency/critical-care response experience (to include 911, military medics or equivalent emergency response), and require at least three years of supervisory experience within that span. The board retained a paramedic licensure requirement rather than allowing EMTs to serve as director.
One committee member summarized the settled approach: set six years of critical/emergency response, with three of those years in supervisory roles, and remove the final ambiguous clause from the job description. After the edits, a committee member moved to approve the revised job description, the motion was seconded, and the board approved it by voice vote.
With the chief’s pending departure, members nominated Paul Tibbs as interim chief; a member stated, “I nominate Paul Tibbs for interim chief,” and members congratulated Tibbs. The board discussed whether an interim assistant chief was needed and whether that assistant must be a medic; members noted operational trade-offs if supervisors are taken off trucks for administrative work.
Next steps noted at the meeting included sending the approved job description to human resources for formal posting and using established county posting processes once the retirement is official. The board did not set a long-term timeline for the permanent hire during the meeting.
