Posts Tagged Carol Stream Fire Chief Rick Kolomay

Carol Stream Fire Chief to retire

Feb 9

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News | Comments off

Carol Stream Fire Chief Rick Kolomay is planning to retire citing medical issues after a nearly 37-year career.

Kolomay says he’s forced to step down because of what he called major, cumulative injuries that keep him from doing the job. He has been on medical leave since December and recently had shoulder surgery, officials said.

The board hasn’t picked a successor. Kolomay’s last day with the fire protection district hasn’t been determined and the board of trustees is expected to discuss his retirement at its Feb. 15 meeting. Trustees previously have filled the top post from within the ranks of the 15-square-mile district, which covers Carol Stream and parts of Bloomingdale, Winfield and Glendale Heights.

“I don’t think it was expected by anybody, Rick included,” fire district Trustee Rick Fisher said.

Deputy Fire Chief Bob Hoff, a former Chicago Fire Department commissioner, has been handling Kolomay’s duties in his absence. Hoff was hired in 2012 as part of a reshuffling of district leadership, less than two weeks after he stepped down as the head of the nation’s second-biggest department. His position involves training firefighters and developing fitness regimens.

Then-Deputy Chief Perry Johnson moved to a newly created civilian position overseeing district finances and the fire prevention bureau, among other administrative jobs.

Hoff and Kolomay met in 1985, when he was a student in a class Kolomay taught at the state fire academy.

After 23 years working in the Schaumburg Fire Department, Kolomay returned less than a decade ago to the district where he began his career in 1979. Kolomay was promoted from deputy to interim chief in 2009 and permanently got the job several months later.

Kolomay, a third-generation firefighter, created a new culture that unified personnel and stressed training, Fisher said.

“We’ve done some good things together, negotiated some good contracts, worked thorough some personnel issues,” said Carol Stream Firefighters Association Local 3192 President Rick Bonk, a lieutenant in the district. “He’s certainly improved our level of firefighting skill overall.”

Reflecting on his tenure, Kolomay highlighted his role in creating an alliance of neighboring fire agencies aimed at improving efficiencies and sharing resources. Since going live in February 2012, the group has established uniform procedures for battling fires instead of operating under their own guidelines.

Kolomay called his nearly 37 years firefighting a good run that almost matched the longevity of his father, a Chicago firefighter.

thanks Dan and Scott

Tags: Carol Stream Fire Chief Rick Kolomay, Carol Stream fire chief to retire, Carol Stream Fire District, Carol Stream Firefighters Association Local 3192 President Rick Bonk, Deputy Chief Perry Johnson, Deputy Fire Chief Bob Hoff

Carol Stream wants to renovate fire station

Dec 7

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Excerpts from theDailyHerald.com:

In 1975, Carol Stream firefighters moved into a station on Schmale Road. Even after 40 years, the location still works for covering emergencies in a now heavily developed part of town, Chief Rick Kolomay says.

But safety and training standards have evolved, and parts of the aging structure itself don’t meet those benchmarks, Kolomay says. That’s largely because the 6,200-square-foot building was converted from a gas station.

Kolomay hopes a proposal to renovate and reconfigure station No. 29 will come into clearer focus next month, when the fire protection district trustees will meet with contractors. They also will discuss how to pay for improvements during the Jan. 25 meeting.

The cost of the project could range from $2 million to $2.5 million, given the scope of the work the district has asked contractors to review, Kolomay said. The district could finance the work by taking out a loan, through existing funds, a combination of the two or phasing in renovations over several years.

The size is smaller than the typical secondary station, which tend to cover 11,000 to 15,000 square feet, but an addition isn’t planned. Storage of equipment and parts for fire trucks could move to a stand-alone structure in the rear of the building to free room inside.

But the station, he said, needs updating to meet standards by the National Fire Protection Association that, among other things, determines how firefighters should decontaminate their gear. The Jan. 25 board meeting is set for 7 p.m. at the headquarters station, 365 N. Kuhn Road.

Tags: Carol Stream Fire Chief Rick Kolomay, Carol Stream Fire Department, Carol Stream Fire District

Carol Stream FPD terminates battalion chief

Dec 17

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From The Daily Herald:

After months of disciplinary proceedings, Carol Stream Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Joseph Gilles has been terminated.

On Monday, the district’s board of trustees voted unanimously to confirm the board of commissioners’ earlier recommendation to terminate Gilles.

Gilles’ hearing had centered on Fire Chief Richard Kolomay’s allegations that Gilles failed to follow orders to sign a performance improvement plan. The plan outlined core issues with Gilles, including that he does not have the proper management and leadership skills, as well as goals for the battalion chief. By not signing the plan, Gilles violated four rules of conduct, according to the allegations.

During the hearing, Gilles’ attorneys argued that Gilles was never ordered to sign the plan, and that even if he was, that order would have been unlawful. But the district’s board of commissioners upheld the charges of misconduct earlier this year. Among its findings, the commissioners found that the chief did order Gilles to sign the performance plan and that the plan was a lawful order, according to board documents.

Although the board of commissioners recommended Gilles to be terminated, the district’s board of trustees had to confirm the recommended decision. After the board’s decision was announced, some attendees, many of whom were Gilles’ family members, spoke up on his behalf. “The (Carol Stream Fire Protection District) says…pride, duty and tradition are key attributes of the organization,” his sister, Theresa Gilles, said. “Yet today you terminated a member, a leader, of your team, who is ethical, has integrity, shows respect for others, is dedicated to the team, the community, to learning and to teaching.”

Karl Ottosen, an attorney for Kolomay, said Joseph Gilles decided to not follow orders. “As far as the public comment part of this, (Joseph) Gilles made the decision to refuse to follow orders, no one else,” Ottosen said. “And the chief begged him to sit down and talk to him about how to save his career and (Joseph) looked at him and said no.”

thanks Dan

Tags: Battalion Chief Joseph Gilles, Carol Stream Fire Chief Rick Kolomay, Carol Stream Fire Protection District, Carol Stream Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Joseph Gilles, fire department terminates battalion chief

Carol Stream house fire, 11-1-14

Nov 6

Posted by Admin in Apparatus on-scene, Fire Scene photos | Comments off

This fro John Tulipano:

On Saturday Novemner 1st, 2014 Carol Stream FPD was dispatched to possible structure fire at 510 Chippewa Trail, first arriving companies Bn 28 and Tower 28 reported a 1-1/2 story frame with smoke and fire showing. Companies made a quick aggressive interior attack, fire was under control once I arrived. Overhaul was in progress on the roof where the fire had burned through near the chimney

John Tulipano photo

John Tulipano photo

John Tulipano photo

John Tulipano photo

John Tulipano photo

John Tulipano photo

more photos at firescenes.net

Tags: Carol Stream Fire Chief Rick Kolomay, Carol Stream Fire District, Fire Chief Richard Kolomay, fire scene photos, John Tulipano

Carol Stream Still Alarm 10-2-13

Oct 3

Posted by Admin in Apparatus on-scene, Fire Scene photos, Firefighters working | 2 Comments

This from Larry Shapiro:

I was at Carol Stream when a reported house fire came in and responded with the companies. The police reported smoke showing. Carol Stream Battalion 28 confirmed light smoke at 409 Thunderbird Trail which was within a mile’s drive of Station 28.

Companies handled a small fire with a pump can. The call was dispatched shortly after shift change which accounts for the firefighters that were not in gear helping the on-duty crews.

Here are a few images from the scene with a brief video.

Carol Stream Fire District at fire scene

Conditions on arrival. Larry Shapiro photo

A firefighter who just got off duty opes the hydrant. Larry Shapiro photo

A ground ladder comes off the tower. Larry Shapiro photo

Carol Stream Chief Rick Kolomay brings out the command board. Larry Shapiro photo

Carol Stream units on the scene.Larry Shapiro photo

Firefighters from Squad 27A approach the scene. Larry Shapiro photo

The incident command board. Larry Shapiro photo

Carol Stream Deputy Chief Bob Hoff. Larry Shapiro photo

A gallery with more images is HERE.

Tags: Carol Stream fire apparatus, Carol Stream Fire Chief Rick Kolomay, Carol Stream Fire Department, Carol Stream Fire Department Deputy Chief Robert Hoff, Carol Stream Fire District, Carol Stream firefighters at fire scene, fire department command board, Larry Shapiro

West Suburban Fire/Rescue Alliance

Feb 19

Posted by Admin in Fire Service News | 1 Comment

We first wrote about the West Suburban Fire/Rescue Alliance in March of last year. After a year of implementation, the Daily Herald has an interview with Carol Stream Fire Chief Rick Kolomay about the program.

Nearly a year after its debut, an alliance of firefighting agencies in DuPage County is lauding improvements in its responses to emergencies and outlining more ways to share resources.

The West Suburban Fire/Rescue Alliance includes the Wheaton Fire Department and fire protection districts of Carol Stream, Winfield and West Chicago. It’s not a consolidation, but the group aims to build cooperation and reduce costs.

The alliance already has adopted uniform protocols for firefighters and conducts monthly multidepartment training. Now, it’s reviewing ambulance fees in each community.

Although data is not quite a year old, officials said figures from DU-COMM, a regional service that handles 911 calls for the four municipalities, indicate emergency response times have been significantly reduced since the alliance formed.

In cases of general alarm calls, the time it took for all units — three engines, three trucks, two ambulances and five command officers — to arrive at structure fires dropped an average of almost five minutes, they said.

Officials say the faster responses stem from DU-COMM refining a computer-aided dispatch system and a procedure developed by the alliance called “closest station response.”

Pre-alliance depletion policies constrained the availability of equipment, officials said.

“We said basically we’ll only send you one of what we have because we have to protect the rest of town,” Carol Stream Chief and alliance President Rick Kolomay said. “We weren’t getting all the resources to the fire as quickly as we should because we had to skip towns to keep reaching for one of these and one of those because that’s all they could give us.”

Now, the alliance also fills voids when a chief or deputy chief, fire engine, ladder truck and ambulance deploy to the headquarters station of a community with a working fire to plan for any additional emergencies that could arise.

Kolomay said the group continues to study how emergency calls break down in each town. He also left open the possibility of the closest fire station responding in all cases.

Pre-alliance depletion policies constrained the availability of equipment, officials said.

“We said basically we’ll only send you one of what we have because we have to protect the rest of town,” Carol Stream Chief and alliance President Rick Kolomay said. “We weren’t getting all the resources to the fire as quickly as we should because we had to skip towns to keep reaching for one of these and one of those because that’s all they could give us.”

Now, the alliance also fills voids when a chief or deputy chief, fire engine, ladder truck and ambulance deploy to the headquarters station of a community with a working fire to plan for any additional emergencies that could arise.

Kolomay said the group continues to study how emergency calls break down in each town. He also left open the possibility of the closest fire station responding in all cases.