Excerpts from the ChicagoTribune.com:
The Merrionette Park Fire Department is reportedly in turmoil after the village board failed to reappoint three senior officials and a long-serving department secretary during its meeting last month.
Over a dozen members of the paid-on-call fire department have since resigned, including Deputy Chief Pat Carter, Captain Tom Ziolkowski, Lieutenant Jim Carter, and Secretary Katie Quinn Schneider. The sudden removals have left many firefighters confused and upset, as they were not given any formal explanation for their dismissals.
Firefighter Tony Calzaretta noted that it's standard practice for village employees—reappointed annually by the mayor—to remain in their roles unless there's been misconduct. When terminations do occur, an explanation is usually provided. This time, however, no reason was given, which has raised concerns within the department.
The changes come just days after Thomas J. Wendt was appointed as the new fire chief. Wendt, who previously served as a part-time fire lieutenant in Calumet Park and as chief of the Dixmoor Fire Department, took over from longtime Chief Leonard Edling, who retired at the end of April.
Wendt, seen as an outsider by some long-time members, joined the Merrionette Park Fire Department shortly before Edling announced his retirement. While many firefighters believed Wendt was the likely successor and weren’t opposed to his appointment, the abrupt dismissal of several high-ranking officials without explanation came as a shock.
Village spokesperson Pete DiCianni declined to comment on the specific reasons for the departures, citing it as a personnel matter. He stated that Mayor Dennis Magee chose Wendt due to his extensive leadership experience and the fact that he resides in Merrionette Park.
In a statement released Tuesday, Mayor Magee thanked the outgoing members of the fire department for their service but made no direct mention of the resignations. He dismissed the departures as "sour grapes," suggesting that many of those who left didn't regularly respond to emergency calls.
According to internal data, eight of the 12 firefighters who resigned responded to less than 10% of emergency calls this year. Three of them didn’t respond at all, while one only showed up for 1% of incidents.
To address the staffing shortage, Wendt plans to submit seven new firefighter applicants for approval at the next village board meeting in May. He also intends to restructure operations by ensuring two firefighters are always on duty at the station to handle minor emergencies, with additional help called in for larger incidents.
This is a shift from the previous system, where the firehouse was often unstaffed, and firefighters would be paged individually when an emergency occurred. Wendt criticized this method as inefficient and potentially costly, as multiple firefighters might respond to a minor call that didn’t require such a large response.
Three years of budget documents show that the village pays approximately $150,000 annually to its firefighters, excluding the chief’s $40,500 salary.
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