Posts Tagged Orland Fire Protection District Chief Ken Brucki

Interim fire chief named for Orland FPD, chief is on leave of absence

Excerpts from the ChicagoTribune.com:

Orland Fire Protection District Chief Ken Brucki has been placed on a paid leave of absence, with an interim chief having been appointed, a district spokesman confirmed Thursday. Brucki, the district’s chief since June 2012, asked for and was given a leave for an indefinite time for personal reasons, spokesman Ray Hanania said in an email.

The leave took effect Tuesday. He was selected from three finalists for the chief’s job following the retirement in 2011 of Bryant Krizik, who had been on administrative leave.

Prior to being hired by the Orland fire district, Brucki worked since 1994 for the Pleasantview Fire Protection District, which serves Countryside, Hodgkins, Indian Head Park and portions of Burr Ridge.

He began his career as a volunteer firefighter in Merrionette Park in 1988 and later was a part-time firefighter in Darien-Woodridge before taking a full-time position at Pleasantview.

Excerpts from a previous ChicagoTribune.com article:

Orland Fire Protection District Chief Ken Brucki is the focus of a wide-ranging administrative review into areas such as job performance and financial matters, according to an attorney for the district.

Brucki, chief since June 2012, took a paid personal leave of absence in late August, and the district did not explain the reason for the leave. A district spokesman at the time said only that the leave was for an indefinite time period.

The fire district is conducting “kind of an audit” of the chief, looking at Brucki’s “overall performance, conduct” and finances, attorney Burt Odelson said. His firm handles labor relations for the district and isn’t involved in the chief’s review, Odelson said .

“We (the district) are looking into different records,” he said. “For now, he’s on personal leave, and we are doing an audit.”

The revelation of the review comes after the Daily Southtown, under Illinois’ freedom of information law, requested financial records pertaining to Brucki as well as emails and other correspondence related to his leave. In turning down the request for certain records, Odelson’s office said releasing the information would obstruct “active administrative enforcement proceedings” being conducted by the district.

Battalion Chief Michael Schofield is serving as interim fire chief during Brucki’s absence. Schofield has been with the Orland district since 1978.

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Orland firefighter dies in crash

CBS2Chicago has an article about the death of an Orland firefighter from a traffic crash.

 An Orland Park firefighter died in a traffic crash Sunday morning on Interstate 57 in south suburban Matteson.

Wesley Peak, 36, was driving north on I-57 when he was involved in a single vehicle traffic crash, officials said. Peak, of the 200 block of Marquette Place in Manteno, was pronounced dead at the scene at 7:43 a.m., according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office and the Orland Fire Protection District Chief Ken Brucki. He was a seven year veteran of the fire department, Brucki said.

“[Peak] touched so many lives in a positive way; it is equally heartbreaking to the organization as it is on his family,” Brucki said in a statement.

The Chicago Tribune has funeral arrangements for Orland Firefighter Wesley Peak:

Visitation and funeral arrangements have been set for Wes Peak, the Orland Fire Protection District firefighter killed in a single-vehicle crash on his way to work Sunday morning.

Illinois State Police said Monday they were still investigating the cause of the accident on Interstate 57 and 190th Street in southwest suburban Matteson around 6:30 a.m. Sunday. Peak, 36, of Manteno, had been with the fire protection district for seven years.

Visitation will be held from 3 to 9 p.m. Thursday at Colonial Chapel, 15525 S. 73rd Ave., Orland Park. Peak’s funeral service will begin at 10 a.m. Friday at Parkview Christian Church, 11100 Orland Parkway, Orland Park, and will be followed by his burial in Peotone Cemetery.

Survivors include his wife, Melissa; son, Jaxson; parents, William and Linda; and three brothers, according to an obituary on Colonial Chapel’s website. In lieu of flowers, the family asked that donations be made to the Jaxson Memorial Fund.

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