Excerpts from the KaneCountyChronicle.com:
Kelly Callaghan will retire this month after 33 years of service with the Elburn & Countryside Fire Protection District, but his connection to the fire department began even before that.
Callaghan was born and raised in Elburn. He and his brother Keith and their neighborhood friends began hanging out with some of the volunteer firefighters when they were kids. They would watch the firefighters leave the station for a call, and when they came back, Callaghan and the others would show up to help wash the trucks and clean the station and the hoses.
During his junior and senior years in high school, he became a cadet through the co-op at Kaneland High School. After he graduated high school in 1985, he began working construction and volunteered as a firefighter for the next four years.
During that time, the fire and the ambulance divisions were separate. In 1989, Callaghan was hired into the department full-time as the deputy chief. When he was promoted to chief in 2001, the fire and ambulance divisions were merged into one.
He is proud to have been a part of the department’s growth, from two volunteer departments to the opening of the second fire station in 2002, third station in 2014, and finally, the move of Station 1 to its new location in 2015.
He said the biggest challenge faced in his time was when the Fox River & Countryside Fire/Rescue District tried to take over a part of the Elburn & Countryside Fire Protection District.
Callaghan’s co-workers and friends will gather to roast him, congratulate him and give him a high-five on his accomplishments at 5 p.m. Oct. 22, deputy chief Tate Haley said. Call the station at 630-365-6855 for retirement party information.
