All four finalists working to become the 11th chief in the history of the Rockford Fire Department already are high-ranking officers in the department. They were chosen as finalists from a field of 13 applicants.
The Rockford Board of Fire and Police Commissioners is working to choose one of them to succeed Derek Bergsten, who in the spring accepted a job as fire chief of a Fort Collins, Colorado, department.
Finalists will answer questions during a public virtual forum online at 5 p.m. Wednesday. Each will take a turns answering questions. They won’t be able to hear the questions or how the other candidates respond. No questions will be taken from the live audience.
Trent Brass
Armed with a bachelors degree in assets protection and a minor in computer information systems from Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, Kentucky, where he graduated magna cum laude, Trent Brass entered the business world in 1995.
He went to work for the DeKalb Fire Department in 1996, completing fire science training at the Elgin Fire Academy in May 1997.
Brass was hired in Rockford in March 2001 after working five years as a firefighter-paramedic in DeKalb. Promoted to lieutenant in 2013 and captain in 2018, Brass has had a hand in developing and implementing some of the Rockford Fire Department’s most innovative programs.
He helped to develop and guide the department’s mobile integrated health program that works with SwedishAmerican Hospital to reduce unnecessary emergency room transports and visits while providing needed services to patients. He also helped to implement a new program that allows Rockford to transport patients, when appropriate, directly to a mental health treatment facility as opposed to an emergency room.
Kyle Hill
Kyle Hill, leader of the region’s hazardous materials team, is a 1990 graduate of Christian Life High School who got his start as a volunteer firefighter before hiring on with Rockford in 1999.
Promoted to lieutenant in 2010 and captain in 2017, Hill oversees Rockford Fire Station No. 7, where he is responsible for station maintenance, budgeting and record keeping in addition to managing firefighters and paramedics.
He earned an associate’s degree in applied fire science from Rock Valley College in 2008 and a bachelor’s degree in public safety management from Southern Illinois University in 2020.
Among his proudest accomplishments was co-founding a small committee in 2007 that would go on to establish a memorial to honor fallen firefighters, police officer and EMS workers who had been killed in the line of duty. The memorial was dedicated in 2015 and Hill continues to work with the Winnebago County 9/11 Emergency Responders Memorial as treasurer of the organization.
Matthew Knott
An award winning Rockford firefighter and paramedic hired in 1997, Matthew Knott was promoted to division chief in 2009. He is currently in charge of administration and is responsible for planning, organizing, budgeting, directing and supervising the administrative and human resources divisions of the department.
Knott was recognized with a Humanitarian Service Medal from the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System and Illinois Fire Chiefs Association for “outstanding individual and team actions” after responding to Hurricane Katrina in the fall of 2005. He has represented the fire department as part of Transform Rockford, Alignment Rockford, and myriad other community improvement efforts.
In addition to his certifications, Knott holds a bachelor’s degree from Northern Illinois University in geology and master’s degree in industrial management-safety.
Knott is a proponent of metrics-based performance evaluations and continuous improvement policies. He has led fire prevention, public education, and arson investigation programs.
Michele Pankow
Michele Pankow could become the first woman to be chief in the history of the Rockford Fire Department, which dates back to 1880.
When a major disaster strikes the region like a tornado or large-scale incident, she is in charge of mobilizing the response and running the special operations center.
Over a 28-year career she has worked her way up the ranks serving as a firefighter, emergency medical services operations chief, lieutenant, captain, and district chief. She holds an associates degree from Rock Valley College, a bachelor’s degree in fire service management from Southern Illinois University and a master’s in public administration from Northern Illinois University.
In 2017, Pankow became the first woman in the history of the Rockford Fire Department to attain the rank of division chief. She is in charge of all fire suppression and special tactical operation companies and directs emergency medical operations of the department.
And Pankow was recognized this year as an “everyday hero” with the 2021 Red Cross Disaster Services Hero Award.
“Everybody has that on the job. Everybody always has two or three calls that they’re going to remember.”
Rockford Fire Department Chief Derek Bergsten on the traumatic events that firefighters encounter in the line of duty. And although they all go home at the end of the day, he says sometimes, those experiences can have a lasting effect.
“We know that once you’re hired on the Rockford Fire Department or any fire or police, that you are going to see things that are going to impact your life, that are going to be engrained in your memory for the rest of your life,” said Chief Bergsten. “The big thing we really want to focus on now is how do you deal with that.”
That’s one reason the Rockford Fire Department has produced a new video. It’s an attempt to get firefighters to discuss traumatic stress they often hold inside. One of the biggest challenges they face is removing the stigma of needing help.
Dan DeGryse has been in the mental health field for the last thirty years, and has been with the Chicago Fire Department for 28 years. He is currently the director of the Florian Program at Rosecrance-one that is specifically tailored to attend to emergency personnel who understand where they’re coming from.
“You can really just have a conversation. That’s how treatment starts. It starts with a conversation,” said DeGryse. “We have to make it okay and when I say we, I mean everyone in the fire service, and the police and the military to get checked.”
Chief Bergsten saying it’s important those struggling know they’re not alone.
“You know, at the end of the day, everyone is a human being and we need to make sure that we provide the best support for those individuals.”
Rosecrance will be holding it’s second annual Florian Symposium September 21-22.
It’s a 2-day training for firefighters, police officers, EMS providers, military personnel, clinicians, and others where they will learn more about mental health, trauma, and peer support.
