Villa Park names new fire chief

The village of Villa Park recently named Steven Stapleton as the new fire chief.

Stapleton will be sworn in at the March 27 village board meeting. He has been serving as interim fire chief since October, following the retirement of former Chief Ron Rakosnik.

A veteran of the department since 1997, Stapleton has been deputy fire chief for the past 12 years. He is the youngest firefighter in department history to be named lieutenant, deputy chief and chief.

He holds a bachelor's degree in Fire Service Management from Southern Illinois University, where he graduated summa cum laude.

"It is a great honor to be selected as Villa Park's next fire chief," Stapleton said. "I look forward to working with the dedicated members of this organization and to continue to foster the relationships with surrounding departments, which is critical to improve our collaborative response capabilities to the communities we serve."