Excerpts from MySuburbanLife.com:

After 31 years of service in the Elmhurst Fire Department, Chief Jeff Bacidore celebrated his retirement at a party attended by more than 200 people. Bacidore’s last day as an Elmhurst firefighter was Feb. 5, the same day friends, family and colleagues gathered at the American Legion to express their gratitude for his more than three decades of service.

According to Bacidore, he retired to take a position as a risk management consultant with a company in St. Charles.

Bacidore began his career in 1980 as a paid on-call firefighter in LaSalle. Five years later he was hired by the Elmhurst Fire Department. By June 1995, Bacidore was promoted to lieutenant, and three years later he was made battalion chief. In 2002, he was appointed deputy fire chief. A decade later, and almost exactly 27 years after becoming an Elmhurst firefighter, Bacidore was named fire chief.

He said that he will never forget the dedication and caring of the people of Elmhurst.

The city now is faced with the task of replacing Bacidore. On Feb. 1, the City Council approved the hiring of Deputy Fire Chief William Anaszewicz as interim fire chief while they vet internal and external candidates for fire chief, Grabowski said.

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