Fire department sends chief on in style

Buffalo Grove Fire Chief Tim Sashko tried to make his last week on the job like every other week. He attended all the same meetings and kept himself busy with day-to-day-matters.

"I didn't want to have the time to sit back and reflect," he said on his last day as chief of the department. "I didn't want to get too worked up about leaving."

Sashko, 49, will be starting his new job Monday as chief of the Mundelein Fire Department. His co-workers sent him off from his job of 28 years Friday afternoon with a surprise ceremony to present him with a flag.

Sashko started his career in Buffalo Grove as a paid-on-call volunteer. He remained at the department, going from the bottom rung to the top-ranking position.

Last year, he was named the Fire Chief of the Year by the Illinois Fire Chiefs Association.

"I'm blessed," he said. "It's going to be hard to walk out of here."

Sashko was there when the fire department was incorporated in 1981. Many in that group hired as the first official full-time Buffalo Grove firefighters have stayed with the department since then. That group will likely all be retiring from their jobs en masse in the next few years since firefighters normally do so after 30 years on the job.

Sashko said he's been trying to make sure the department is ready when all the older members retire. That leadership training will also become useful in Mundelein, he said, where the town and the department are growing.

Although Sashko also currently resides in Mundelein, he grew up in Buffalo Grove, attending school and in the same social circles as many of the people he works with.

In fact, he and Battalion Chief Joe Wieser used to scoop ice cream together at Baskin Robbins at age 14.

"It is not a job; it's a life," he said of firefighting. "It becomes a family lifestyle."

Sashko said the first time he had to run a fire call as a lieutenant was overwhelming.

"It's amazing how awe-struck you are when you are in charge of something like that," he said.

The major fires and tragedies also stick out, such as the large blaze at the Villa Verde condominiums in 2000.

Sashko said he also remembers the lighter moments.

When he was starting as a firefighter, he had to live with the same group of men for 24 hours at a time. They pulled pranks on each other, such as sticking an IV bag into the ceiling and letting it drip on a sleeping firefighter's face.

His co-workers also had a tendency to pick on Sashko for his short stature.

Wieser said a group once took a TV cart and made it into a doll bed for Sashko.

"I think it's going to be different without him here," he said. "When the original group leaves, it's going to be different."

Deputy Chief Dan Pearson, who also was hired full time in 1981, said the department has advanced in firefighting technology through the years, much of it thanks to Sashko.

"He is truly a trendsetter," he said.

This past Monday, the village board recognized Sashko for the many years he's put into the job with a standing ovation.

"You will always be a part of Buffalo Grove," Trustee Brian Rubin said.

Sashko gave credit to the rest of the department for all the innovation in the past three decades, such as a sprinkler ordinance and a wireless alarm system.

"It's an honor (to work here); I've always considered it that," he said.

Starting Monday, Deputy Chief Peter Ciecko will take over as interim chief. The village board recently hired a search firm to look for a replacement for Sashko.