Friday, January 07, 2000
New fire chief feels lucky
Dream comes true in his hometown
BY WALT SCHAEFER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
READING — Kevin Kaiser has dreamed of being a fire chief since he was a fire cadet here in 1975.
But the assistant Reading fire chief always assumed that he would have to move away from his hometown to realize his dream, with Chief Steve Ashbrock, another Reading native, secure at the helm of the Reading Fire Department.
Then, fate stepped in.
Chief Ashbrock was named chief of the Madeira-Indian Hill Fire Department in November. Assistant Chief Kaiser aced the civil service exam — scoring higher than two fire lieutenants who also took it.
On Jan. 17, Kevin Kaiser will raise his right hand and be sworn in as Reading's new fire chief by Mayor Earl Schmidt.
“I got to thinking about this, and all I can say is it was some great luck. I wanted to be a fire chief, but never did I think I'd get the opportunity here,” Assistant Chief Kaiser said.
“I always thought Steve would be here forever because he loves this town and he's a native, too,” said Assistant Chief Kaiser, 41, who lives here with wife, Lauree, and daughters, Katie, 18, and Kelly, 16, both students at Mount Notre Dame High School.
Assistant Chief Kaiser will lead a contingent of 14 full-time and 20 part-time firefighters protecting this Mill Creek Valley community of about 12,000. He will earn $61,500 a year.
“Kevin played an integral part in our management team in Reading,” said Chief Ashbrock. “He will do very well leading that department.”
“I've known Kevin since we were in Boy Scouts together, and this is just great,” said Fire Lt. Lindsey Collett, who also took the exam for chief.
“It's not just what Kevin does here in the fire department, it's what he does in the community,” Lt. Collett said. “He has been involved in Sacred Heart Church, the Scouts, schools. He's one of Mount Notre Dame's "Band Dads' — a parents group supporting the combined Moeller and Mount Notre Dame high school band. “He's so well-known and well-liked throughout our community.”
Firefighter Kit Kretschmer said Assistant Chief Kaiser “will do very well because he cares so much. He cares about people — the people in the department and those we serve.”
Assistant Chief Kaiser said he feels fortunate to take over a well-organized department and credited Chief Ashbrock with starting “a team management concept.”
“He involved his officers. We planned together. We implemented together. We executed together; and, we accomplished a lot — (such things as) a quality assurance system in our (paramedic) services, fire education programs, fire inspection programs and a joint venture with the police in fire investigations,” Assistant Chief Kaiser said.
A civil service exam to fill Assistant Chief Kaiser's post will be held in late February.
“One of the immediate things I want to do is review and update our disaster planning to handle such things as chemical spills or leaks, train derailments or tornadoes — weather-related issues. We have kept that planning together pretty well, but it is an ever-changing process to keep it up to date,” Assistant Chief Kaiser said.
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