City hires its first full-time fire chief

The City of Burlington Fire Department will begin a new era June 3 when its first full-time chief will take the reigns.

Perry Howard, a 32-year veteran and an assistant fire chief with the Beach Park, Ill, Fire Protection District and lieutenant with the Arlington Heights, Ill., Fire Department has been hired after an extensive nationwide search.

Howard will take over a department with approximately 47 volunteers and four paid fire personnel, including three engineers and a fire inspector.

He will replaces long-time volunteer/part-time chief Dick Lodle.

Howard holds a master’s degree in business administration and human resource management from the Keller Graduate School of Management and a bachelor’s degree in fire science management from Southern Illinois University. He is also a graduate of the Executive Fire Officer Program at the National Fire Academy.

Howard holds several professional certifications from the Illinois State Fire Marshall’s Office as well as other certifications including Hazardous Materials Operations, WMD Incident Management Systems, Training Program Manager and Incident Safety Officer.

He currently teaches at Southern Illinois University as an adjunct professor.

“We are excited to have such a professionally trained and experienced fire chief coming to the City of Burlington,” said Mayor Bob Miller. “Mr. Howard clearly rose to the top after an extensive national search.”

Howard has also written several journal articles for the National Fire Academy.

For in-depth coverage on the new fire chief, see the May 30 edition of the Burlington Standard Press. The newspaper will be available Friday this week due to the Memorial Day holiday.