Excerpts from the dailyherald.com:

Congratulations to Fire Chief Robert Turpel on his retirement from the Long Grove Fire Protection District after 30 years of service.

Turpel came up through the ranks to become fire chief in 2001. During his 20-year tenure as chief, the LGFPD witnessed extraordinary growth in its formation, business operations and in its heightened service and contribution to the surrounding communities.

Under Turpel’s direction, the fire district became a full-time fire department. Through his leadership and strong financial and business acumen, he was able to update and increase the ranks of firefighters while creating a well-balanced fiscal policy and balance sheet for the department, resulting in the hiring of full-time and part-time firefighters, further needed departmental investments, and the creation of a pension plan for firefighters.

In further service to the community, he initiated the publication of the LGFPD newsletter for the Village of Long Grove, was an active member of the Regional Emergency Dispatch Center, helped create CERT (County Emergency Response Team) for the area of southern Lake County, and was active in updating the regional training center, CAFT (Combined Area Fire Training), that serves many of the fire districts in the area.