Lombard picks veteran firefighter as new chief

A longtime firefighter and native of Lombard, Paul DiRienzo, has been named Lombard’s new fire chief.

DiRienzo, who joined the department full-time in July 1986 and most recently has served as a battalion chief, will assume his new duties Sept. 6. He will be sworn in by the village board that same day, Village Manager David Hulseberg said Monday in a written statement.

A graduate of Glenbard East High School, DiRienzo joined the department as a paid-on-call firefighter in 1982. Over the course of his career, he assisted with the department’s public education programs and with the Fire Investigation Unit. He received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois in Chicago and has served as the department’s Emergency Medical Services EMS coordinator for the past three years. He was sworn-in as battalion chief in June.

DiRienzo, his wife of 25 years and their four children now live in Wheaton. He will be paid a salary of $125,000.

Lombard has been searching for a chief since Mike Torrence retired in January after 15 months at the helm. Since then, the department has had three interim chiefs, including two from its ranks and a retired chief from Matteson.