Excerpts from theChicagoTribune.com:
Franklin Park Fire Chief Steve Iovinelli is retiring.
“On Sept. 29, 1980, I started my career with the Franklin Park Fire Department. I’ll be completing my journey retiring on my 35th anniversary,” Iovinelli said.
Before joining the department, Iovinelli had been working alongside his father at a heating and air conditioning company. In his mid-20s he said he saw an ad for the Franklin Park Fire Department and after passing the fire exam, began a career that spanned over three decades with Franklin Park.
In his time with the department, he’s served as secretary of its pension board for 21 years and has worked to stay current as a paramedic in good standing with Loyola University. In June of 2010, he became the department’s interim fire chief before being officially appointed to the position in September later that year. Iovinelli is described as having the respect and admiration of rank and file members of the department and knowledge as a firefighter and fire chief that Village President Barrett Pedersen called astronomical.
During his time as chief, Iovinelli was able to successfully pursue over a million dollars of grants for the village and oversee an initiative to have the village’s fire department go back to offering paramedic services, a move he said allowed the village to save money by not outsourcing it to private companies.
Battalion Chief Bill Brehm, who’s been with the department since 1993, will succeed Iovinelli as Franklin Park’s new fire chief.
