Names in the News

>> DAVE BLETSCHER, a second-generation firefighter and captain with the Gifford (IL) Fire Protection District (GFPD), received a Special Service Award for his “Extraordinary Commitment to Fire Service Training” as an FDIC volunteer staff member at the 2014 Fire Department Instructors Conference (FDIC) in Indianapolis, Indiana (from FDIC Conference Director Diane Rothschild, right). Bletscher is celebrating 30 years with the GFPD, where he twice has been named “Firefighter of the Year.” Bletscher has been an FDIC attendee since the conference moved to Indianapolis in 1995 and began working as a volunteer staff member in 2006.

>> JOHN FULLENWIDER became the new chief of the Anchorage (AK) Fire Department (AFD) on May 12, 51 years after the start of his fire service career and eight years after his first retirement from the department. He takes over for Chris Bushue, who will step down to battalion chief to spend more time with his family. The AFD chief oversees 375 employees and a $90 million annual budget, which is nearly 20 percent of Anchorage’s total spending plan. Fullenwider said that he will remain chief during the life of Mayor Dan Sullivan’s tenure. Fullenwider will be the city’s fourth chief in the last five years.

>> ROBERT M. SEARLES is the new chief of the Mentor (OH) Fire Department (MFD). He replaces Chief Richard Harvey, who retired on March 31. Searles joined the MFD 1988 and has held every rank within it. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1992, battalion chief in 1994, and deputy chief in 2000. Since that time, he has been instrumental in assisting the chief in the internal management of the department as well as the development of outside community-based programs such as the H1N1 flu vaccine point-of-distribution centers and moving patients from LakeEast Hospital to TriPoint Medical Center.