Two New LZ Firefighter/Paramedics Sworn In

Two new firefighters have joined the ranks of the . Philip Rotstein and Andrew Skalski were sworn in at the Village Board meeting Monday by Fire Commissioner Ken Grooms.

Rotstein and Skalski are the 75^th and 76^th firefighters, respectively, to join the department since it converted to full-time from paid-on-call more than 23 years ago.

“It’s good to get some new blood going in the department; it’s another piece in the puzzle to bring the department back to full-strength,” said Fire Chief Dave Wheelock.

Almost a year ago to the day, and two firefighter/paramedics were sworn in at the Sept. 18, 2010, board meeting.

At that time, the department had lost nine firefighters — six to attrition and three to retirement — and was just beginning to rebuild.

Then on March 21, an additional firefighter/paramedic was brought on board.  

Wheelock said the department is still short one firefighter/paramedic, and has four people out on workmen’s compensation. Those open spots have been compounded by recent retirements and attrition.

Rotstein and Skalski fill two of those vacancies in the department, and Wheelock said he wants fill another position in the near future.

New hires go through a three-week orientation academy to review procedures and help them acclimate to protocol within the .

“Everyone loads a hose different and attacks a fire different,” Wheelock said.

Both firefighter/paramedics officially started Sept. 12 and have entered their second full week of the academy.

Rotstein started working in fire service in 1991 at the Glenside Fire Protection District in Glendale Heights, where he worked as a paid-on-call firefighter and contract paramedic. 

He has earned a number of Office of the State Fire Marshal certificates, including Firefighter II, Instructor I, Fire Apparatus Engineer, Confined Space/Trench Awareness, Technical Rescue, and Hazardous Materials Awareness and Operations.

Rotstein, who is also a certified fire service vehicle operator and is trained as an EMT-paramedic, is married with four children.

Firefighting runs in the family for Skalski, who is married with one child.

His father was a paid-on-call firefighter in Lake Zurich, and then went on to the Arlington Heights Fire Department, where he continues to work as a firefighter/paramedic.

Skalski became a cadet in the Cary Fire Protection District at age 16 and went on to get his associate degree in fire science from McHenry County College. He was hired part-time at the Cary Fire Protection District in 2004.

He also carries the Firefighter II classification, is a Fire Apparatus Engineer and has his paramedic’s license.