Ex-Laguna Fire Chief Kuhn Dies

LAGUNA BEACH — Former Laguna Beach Fire Department Chief Jim Charley Kuhn, who worked 36 years for the city, has died after a six-month bout with cancer, officials said. He was 64 when he died Monday.

A native of Ontario, Calif., Kuhn served in the Marine Corps from 1943-46. He also worked several years for a lumber company before signing up with the Laguna Beach Fire Department in 1953.

By 1966, Kuhn had become a Fire Department captain and was promoted to battalion chief in 1968. He was appointed fire chief in 1973 and retired from the position in April, 1981. He worked an additional eight years after his retirement as the part-time weed abatement coordinator for the Fire Department.

Kuhn is survived by his wife, Annie, two sons, Steve and Jim, and four grandchildren.