Excerpts from the ChicagoTribune.com:
Dave Blondell, a longtime member of the Norwood Park Fire Protection District, was sworn in as the new chief Monday in a ceremony at the firehouse in Harwood Heights. He has been serving as acting chief of the department, which serves Norridge, Harwood Heights, and Norwood Park, since former chief Terrance Vavara resigned in May. Blondell will earn an annual salary of $130,000.
He his 7-year-old son Bodie pinned his new badge alongside his wife, Erin, and 12-year-old daughter, Sydney.
Blondell joined the department in 1993 as a paramedic student, became a paramedic assigned to an ambulance the next year, and served as a firefighter and paramedic from 1996 to 2006. In 2006, he became a lieutenant, a role he served in until 2011 when he moved to commander. From 2017 until May of this year he served as deputy chief. He has also served as the department’s public information officer and as president of Norwood Park Fireman’s Association IAFF Local 4210.
