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Palatine Rural Fire Protection District Announces Hiring of New Fire Chief

Palatine Rural Fire Protection District is pleased to announce the hiring of Richard Kurka as the district's new fire chief. Chief Kurka was sworn in at the regular meeting of the board of trustees on Nov. 8.

Chief Kurka will be the fourth fire chief employed by Palatine Rural since it began operations in January, 1995. The new chief comes to Palatine Rural from the Bloomingdale Fire Protection District No. 1.

Chief Kurka began his career as a firefighter/paramedic with Bloomingdale in 1994, and rose through the ranks to retire as deputy chief in July 2021. He earned a bachelor's degree in speech communication from Iowa State University and an associate degree in fire science from McHenry County College.

He obtained Chief Officer designation from the Illinois State Fire Marshal and a Graduate Certificate in Leadership from Aurora University.

Aaron Del Mar, president of the board of trustees for the fire district said, "We are proud to announce the appointment of Richard Kurka as fire chief. We believe Chief Kurka has the experience and leadership necessary to ensure the district continues to provide outstanding service to the residents of Inverness, unincorporated Palatine and Schaumburg townships, and the surrounding areas for years to come."

Chief Kurka and his wife, MaryJo, have four children and reside in Woodstock.

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