Posts Tagged Aurora Fire Chief John Lehman

New fire chief in Aurora (more)

Excerpts from theChicagoTribune.com:

When Gary Krienitz was a young firefighter, he was assigned to the engine company headed by John Lehman.

Lehman, Aurora’s fire chief, said he remembered a fire where he and the young, aggressive firefighter were on the hose together, arguing over who would handle the nozzle and put the fire out. Lehman recalled the story Wednesday as he retired as fire chief, and Krienitz, who has been the city’s fire marshal, was sworn in as the 17th chief in fire department history.

Lehman is retiring after almost 29 years, having started in Aurora as a firefighter/paramedic in 1987 and working his way up the ranks. He remembered some of his key moments through the years, including the Plainfield tornado in 1991, the Aurora Flood of 1996, the medical helicopter crash that claimed four lives in 2008, and a May 2011 house fire that resulted in six deaths, the worst in Aurora history.

The Flood of 1996 provided a specific memory of a 3 a.m. call, with water about to come in the front door of his house and about six to eight feet of water in his basement. His wife, Becky, was awake with two babies.

Krienitz read some of the many notes the department received from the community over the years praising Lehman, and recalled a situation where Lehman had to assist amputating someone’s arm to extract them from a bad car accident. He said it exemplified Lehman’s willingness to go above and beyond the call of duty at all times.

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New fire chief in Aurora (more)

Excerpts from theChicagoTribune.com:

Aurora Fire Marshal Gary Krienitz will take office as the city’s new fire chief Feb. 20,  after the city council unanimously approved his appointment as chief, to succeed John Lehman when he retires Feb. 19.

Krienitz, 43, will become the 17th fire chief of the Aurora Fire Department. In accepting the appointment, Krienitz told the City Council this week that he wanted to acknowledge the 16 fire chiefs who served the Aurora Fire Department before him.

Serving in the Aurora Fire Department for 19 years, Krienitz began as a paramedic before being promoted to lieutenant and then captain. In April 2015, he was appointed as Aurora’s fire marshal.

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New Illinois State Fire Marshal comes from Aurora

Excerpts from the ChicagoTribune.com:

… Lt. Gov. Evelyn Sanguinetti called [Aurora Fire Marshal] Matt Perez and asked him to apply to be the Illinois Fire Marshal … Perez found out late last week [that] Gov. Bruce Rauner appointed him the [position]. He assumes the post on April 1. … [and] will begin finding out exactly what it takes to do the job … for the whole state.

The state fire marshal’s office has three basic charges: arson investigation and enforcement; public education for fire prevention; and code development and investigation.

Those are the basic things the fire marshal’s office does in Aurora, too, said Aurora Fire Chief John Lehman.

Perez is the son of a long-time police officer in Aurora, Peter Perez, who also served as undersheriff for former Kane County Sheriff George Kramer. He also is the brother of former two-term Kane County Sheriff Pat Perez.

Matt Perez joined the Aurora Fire Department as a firefighter in July 1987, became a paramedic, and rose through the ranks as a lieutenant and captain. Before becoming the fire marshal in 2010, he was in the department’s training division. He is a graduate of Southern Illinois University with a bachelor’s degree in fire service management and lives in Sugar Grove.

Perez said he will be working mainly out of the state fire marshal’s Chicago office, so he will not have to relocate from Sugar Grove to Springfield.

thanks Dan

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