Fire chiefs were under attack on the front page of the Chicago Daily Herald last week. Reporter Natasha Korecki wrote about fire and police chiefs who retire after 30 years of service with a pension that's 75% of their salary. The chief then takes a chief's job in another town at a high (or higher) salary in addition to their pension. The article criticized these retired officials for continuing their careers at a time when cities and counties are struggling with tight budgets and tax caps.

It must be a slow week for news. What's the big deal? Military personnel do the same thing; they retire from the military at the ripe age of 39 or 40 and go on to second career while collecting their military pensions.

"Where are you going next?" is a common question at a fire chief's retirement party, too. In fact, my address book is riddled with erasures of fire chiefs' contact information because of these moves. I probably know more chiefs in Chicago's suburbs who are retired from other departments than first-time chiefs.

These fire chiefs have paid their dues. The stress and physical demands in the fire service are extraordinary. The statistics remind us constantly that heart- and stress-related diseases are the biggest killers of firefighters.

The fire service also demands a higher level of education than it did 30 years ago. A lot of time and money is invested in degrees, certification and executive fire officer programs. In addition, the decreasing fire calls, first-hand experience on the fireground is not what it was 20 years ago. With the increased demands of medical response and a variety of other hazmat, technical-rescue and other incidents, experienced leaders are at a premium.

It's interesting that in the corporate world, the chief executives can leave with their golden parachutes or pensions and move on to other businesses or careers. Stockholders might be the only protesters. While cities and towns have different financial structures, the issue of pensions is going to come up more frequently as baby boomers begin to retire. The loss of experienced chiefs and chief officers (see January's Chief's Clipboard, FIRE CHIEF, page 36) will pose unique problems for fire and emergency services. On the other hand, the availability of experienced leadership will come at a higher cost and the benefits will only become evident at the time of a disaster.

Supply and demand, folks. The fire service becomes more and more like the corporate world every week.

Janet Wilmoth, Editor