Streamwood swears in new fire battalion chief, lieutenant

Streamwood Fire Chief Chris Clark introduced the village's new battalion chief Thursday as a Green Bay Packers fan who puts ketchup on his hot dogs.

"Other than that, he a pretty good guy," Clark said to laughter during a gathering at the village board meeting announcing changes to department leadership.

Bill Schmidt, credited with getting the fire prevention division off the ground, was promoted to battalion chief. His two daughters pinned a badge on their dad and then snapped a selfie in front of the village board.

Bob Kukla was sworn in as lieutenant. Kukla's dad made the trip from Alabama to pin the badge on his son's uniform. Clark highlighted Kukla's work to modernize ambulance equipment.

"We've really made some major improvements since he's been a part of that," Clark said.

The shuffling came after Battalion Chief Bob Wysong retired after more than three decades with the village.