Posts Tagged Mike Baker

New fire chief for Buffalo Grove

From the Village of Buffalo Grove website:

Buffalo Grove Names New Fire Chief

Village Manager Dane Bragg has announced the promotion of William “Mike” Baker to serve as fire chief of the Buffalo Grove Fire Department. Mr. Baker has served as the Interim Fire Chief since Terrence Vavra retired in February 2015.

Chief Baker has been with the Village of Buffalo Grove since 2013 as deputy fire chief. He has over 36 years of fire experience including 30 years as a paramedic, eight years as the Elgin Fire Department Assistant Chief, and 14 years as a fire instructor with the Elgin Regional Fire Academy. Baker was awarded Firefighter of The Year in 1989 and has received the Chief VandeVoorde award for EMS Excellence. He is also a 23 year senior adjunct faculty at Elgin Community College. Baker graduated with academic honors from Northern Illinois University with a Masters of Public Administration and has received the Chief Fire Officer (CFO) designation by the Center for Public Safety Excellence and Executive Fire Officer (EFO) from the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, MD.

Chief Baker will assume his role as fire chief after being sworn in to his new post during the Village Board meeting on July 6, 2015.  A reception will be held to welcome Chief Baker at 7:00 pm at Village Hall, 50 Raupp Boulevard, immediately preceding the regularly scheduled Village Board meeting.

thanks Dan

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Buffalo Grove FD hires new deputy chief

The Daily Herald has an article introducing Mike Baker as the new Deputy Chief in Buffalo Grove.

Buffalo Grove has hired a 35-year veteran of the fire service as its new deputy fire chief. Fire Chief Terry Vavra introduced William “Mike” Baker to the village board at this week’s meeting, where he and the board also said goodbye to three longtime firefighters.

Baker, who will make in the neighborhood of $120,000, joins the department Nov. 25. He worked for the Elgin Fire Department for 27 years, retiring as an assistant chief, before taking on interim deputy chief duties in Streamwood.

As an instructor for the Elgin Regional Fire Academy, which trains more than 80 different departments throughout Northern Illinois, he had plenty of contact with Buffalo Grove’s firefighters, ranking them within the top 10 percent seen at the academy.

“The reason that this job attracted me was because of the quality of personnel that came through that academy,” he said. “This community, this village and this fire department made a lasting impression on me.”

Baker was hired by the Elgin Fire Department as a firefighter/paramedic in 1985. In 2004, he was promoted to assistant chief. He developed the Saving Our Seniors Smoke Detector and Company Officer Succession training programs, was American Legion Firefighter of the Year in 1989 and won the EMS Leadership Award in 2006.

The retirees who were honored were Deputy Chief Doug Postma, Battalion Chief Joe Wieser and Lt. William Kent Brecht.

Vavra said that since July 2011, retirements have resulted in the loss of 479 years of experience. On Monday, he noted, the village was recognizing 87 years of experience.

thanks Dan & Ron

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