Excerpts from the nwherald.com:

Harvard Fire Protection District Chief Steve Harter submitted his resignation as chief effective immediately Wednesday.

Harter – who has been chief of the district for the past 15 years – said his departure was because of personal reasons, but wrote in his resignation letter that he would be honored to continue to serve as a firefighter and EMT, which the board allowed.

At a previous board meeting, Harter – referring to the constantly evolving fire and EMS standards a fire chief must keep up with – said that it is very hard for a person working 50 hours to 60 hours a week to return to school. He would have to spend hundreds of hours in the classroom annually to keep up with current fire service personnel standards, according to the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal.

Battalion Chief Bryan Pierce will assume the duties of acting fire chief while the board is weighing options for a replacement.

A special board meeting is scheduled for Monday 7 p.m. at the Harvard Fire Protection District’s station, 502 S. Eastman St, where an acting fire chief will be formally appointed.

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