Fire departments will no longer share fire chief

Excerpts from ChicagoTribune.com:

Chicago Ridge and Oak Lawn have decided to put an end to their year-long experiment of sharing a fire chief. After hiring a full-time fire chief, George Sheets will return to focusing solely on the Oak Lawn Fire Department. Sheets requested to step down from his dual role to concentrate fully on his position in Oak Lawn, which he has held for six years.

Chicago Ridge Mayor Chuck Tokar expressed that the village will miss Sheets, but added that "he won’t leave until we find a suitable replacement, even if it takes three or six months." He also noted that while the arrangement of two towns sharing a fire chief was working well, the demands of managing both departments were too much.

Over the past year, Sheets balanced both roles, spending roughly two days per week in Chicago Ridge. He took over from Robert Muszynski, who resigned in 2014 due to personal conflicts with some village officials, including Tokar, over potential changes to the fire department. At the time, Tokar wanted to reopen the firehouse at 107th Street and Lombard Avenue without hiring the seven to eight full-time firefighters that Muszynski had insisted were necessary. Instead, part-timers were used to staff the station.

A recent ad on the Illinois Fire Chiefs Association website highlights Sheets’ achievements in Chicago Ridge, including the reopening of the fire station and cost reductions. It also mentions that the new chief’s salary will be determined based on experience.

Beyond re-opening the long-closed station, Sheets introduced a part-time firefighter program that now includes 11 members and is expected to grow to around 15. He explained that these part-timers allow the department to maintain six firefighters on duty during each shift—more than before—and that the system is functioning smoothly. The station at 107th and Lombard is currently open for 12 hours a day, but plans are in place to extend its hours to 24 by August.

Under an agreement between the two village boards last July, Chicago Ridge contributed one-third of Sheets’ salary, which amounted to $37,695.

Chicago Ridge has 13 full-time firefighters and 23 part-time or on-call firefighters. The fire department's budget for fiscal 2015 was $2.7 million, and the department responds to approximately 2,600 calls annually, most of which are medical-related.

Oak Lawn Mayor Sandra Bury stated that neither she nor the city trustees pressured Sheets to return to full-time duties in Oak Lawn. “No, no, no,” she said. “Everyone benefits from shared resources.”

Thanks, Dan

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