Wednesday, November 24, 2010
 
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City Briefs:
Council has praise for outgoing fire chief

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[November 24, 2010]  After 2 1/2 years of service to the city, Lincoln Fire Department Chief Kent Hulett will be officially saying goodbye on Friday.

Recently Mayor Keith Snyder said that on Friday, he will swear in Assistant Chief Mark Miller as the interim chief.

Snyder said that before the city begins the search for a new chief, he wants an opportunity to review the job description and make changes so that it will be more representative of the duties the chief is expected to perform.

On Tuesday, there was a potluck lunch in Snyder's office in honor of the departing fire chief. Several city and county representatives attended, including Alderwoman Joni Tibbs, Alderman Buzz Busby, representatives from the Logan County Emergency Management Agency, Lincoln Police Department, city of Lincoln administrative staff and zoning officer John Lebegue, as well as members of the community.

On Tuesday evening at the committee-of-the-whole meeting of the Lincoln City Council, Hulett was honored once again with a plaque from the city, presented by Snyder, and a pie buffet put together by Kathy Vinyard.

During the meeting, Hulett passed out a written report that summarized the work that has been done in the fire department over the last few years and outlined his hopes for the future of the department.

He spoke to the council, using the report as his outline.

The following is a copy of Hulett's report:

As Fire Chief for the Lincoln Fire Department this will be my last monthly report. Assistant Chief Mark Miller has been appointed as interim fire chief by Mayor Keith Snyder. The appointment will be in effect November 26, 2010. Interim Chief Miller is very capable in moving our organization forward.

During my two and one half year tenure I have made a number of operational changes with the support of your firefighters to improve the Lincoln Fire Department.

Staffing continues to be a priority issue within the fire department. Improvements in our countywide mutual aid fire system have allowed us to bring more firefighters into the city quicker whenever needed. 90% of our current budget cost are related to personnel cost of our nineteen firefighters and officers. The Lincoln Fire Department also responds within Logan County whenever requested by our neighboring fire/EMS/Emergency agencies.

Training is an ongoing priority. We lost over one hundred years of service with the retirement of four senior fire officers. The hiring/training and certification was required for four new firefighters and newly appointed officers and inspector. Currently the three shift Captains are responsible for department wide training requirements.

Smoke detectors and home fire/fall safety are programs that have improved fire safety throughout the community. Smoke detectors are checked on emergency medical calls, as well as home fire/fall safety visits for our senior citizens. Smoke detectors are bought through local donations, with the firefighter's union purchasing batteries.

Recently, the city and county entered into a "memorandum of understanding" for improvements and equipment upgrades for proper hazardous material storage handling and documentation. Our firefighters will be able to access critical information immediately to safely handle any hazardous material emergencies throughout Lincoln and Logan County.

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75% of our workload involves emergency medical calls. Our EMT's and Paramedics provide life safety skills along with the Logan County Paramedics for any medical emergencies or simply to assist seniors with minor falls. Two Lincoln citizens are alive today because of live saving measures during sudden cardiac arrest, recently.

There still remain many challenges and goals for the Lincoln Fire Department. Increased staffing, new fire station, new rescue pumper, improved training are all areas that require long term planning and support from you the City Council of Lincoln.

I thank you for you support of the Lincoln Fire Department and it's been a pleasure working with all of you. I'm proud of the fact, that every firefighter went home safe after the end of their shifts, and there were no fire deaths under my watch.

At the end of the evening, Snyder presented the plaque in appreciation of all that Hulett has done for the city. The mayor spoke briefly, expressing that same appreciation and saying that even though he was very sorry to see the chief leave, he wished him all the best as he moves on.

Alderwoman Joni Tibbs also expressed a sorrow to see the chief departing. She said that she had always been impressed with his visibility in the community. She noted various community events and fundraisers that he was always present for and noted that the water balloon fight on the Fourth of July will not be the same without him. She said she knew that the kids especially were going to miss him on that day.

There were other council members who also expressed sorrow in seeing him go, but at the same time wished him all the best in his new ventures, including Alderwomen Melody Anderson and Kathy Horn.

In a joking manner, Snyder concluded that perhaps the only ones who would not be sorry to see the chief go were the businesses that hosted the chamber of commerce after-hours events.

"We're sad to see you go," Snyder said. "I think that the only people who might be happy are the chamber businesses that now don't have to have as much food for their after-hours, as a third of the ‘Snack Pack' is gone. I don't know if you all know this, but Chief Hulett, Mike Fak and Bob Alberts make up the Snack Pack, and they did a lot of damage at the after-hours chamber events. So with a third of them now gone, they won't have to have as much food."

After the meeting adjourned, all the council members enjoyed a piece or two of pie with the chief and spent a few minutes offering him their personal farewells.

[By NILA SMITH]

Editor's note: Mayor Keith Snyder has filed an application to take Chief Hulett's place in the Snack Pack group. The petition is under consideration.

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