Ray Biles
Fire Chief
Sunray Volunteer Fire Department
End of Watch: July 29, 1956
Fire Chief Ray M. Biles devoted his life to protecting the citizens of Sunray and the surrounding Texas Panhandle communities. A respected leader, dedicated firefighter, and trusted member of his community, he exemplified the qualities of courage, responsibility, and selfless service. His leadership during one of the darkest days in Texas fire service history ensured that his legacy would never be forgotten.
Born in 1913, Biles became a pillar of the Sunray community and rose to serve as chief of the Sunray Volunteer Fire Department. In an era when volunteer firefighters formed the backbone of emergency response in rural Texas, he accepted the immense responsibility of leading men who routinely placed themselves in danger for the benefit of others. Those who served alongside him knew him as a capable leader who understood both the risks and the rewards of public service.
The loss of Chief Biles was deeply felt throughout Sunray and the Texas Panhandle. His death represented not only the loss of a firefighter, but of a leader whose example inspired those around him. His commitment to duty never wavered, even in the face of extraordinary danger.
Today, Chief Ray M. Biles is remembered as one of the nineteen heroes of the McKee Refinery disaster. His name is memorialized at the Texas State Firefighters Memorial, the Moore County memorial honoring the fallen, and Station 19 at the refinery site, where the sacrifice of the nineteen firefighters continues to be honored by future generations.
END OF WATCH: JULY 29 ,1956
During the early morning hours of July 29, 1956, Chief Biles responded to a fire at the McKee Refinery near Sunray, Texas. As the incident grew in severity, firefighters from Sunray, Dumas, and neighboring communities joined forces to battle a dangerous blaze involving a large storage tank containing highly volatile petroleum products. As fire chief, Biles was among those helping direct firefighting operations while crews worked to protect nearby facilities and prevent the fire from spreading.
Despite the increasing danger, Chief Biles remained with his firefighters on the front lines. Shortly before 7:00 a.m., the burning storage tank catastrophically failed, erupting in a massive explosion and fireball that engulfed firefighters working at the scene. Chief Biles was among the nineteen firefighters who lost their lives in the disaster.
At 43 years old, he died alongside many of the volunteers he had led and served beside. His sacrifice became one of the defining stories of the McKee Refinery disaster, a tragedy that remains one of the deadliest firefighter line-of-duty loss incidents in American history and one of the most devastating events ever experienced by the Texas fire service.
