Past fire chiefs
The fire department has a deep tradition of providing emergency services to the City, each Chief having played an important role in what the Effingham Fire Department is today.
If Chief Brown (1867-1870) were to walk into Station #1 today and happen to overhear today's Fire Chief discussing ADA, affirmative action, lightweight construction, hazardous materials, technical rescue, OSHA, NFPA, terrorism, etc., he might be tempted to ask, "Do they still take the nozzle and get to the seat of the fire?"
The answer is "yes, we still focus on getting the wet stuff on the red stuff" but it has become much more technical and difficult than in the past.
The following is a list of the Chiefs who have led the Effingham Fire Department since 1867.
- Chief Thomas A. Brown, 1867 - 1870
- Chief W.W. Brown, 1870 - 1872
- Chief Joseph Kreke, 1872 - 1873
- Chief W. Harry Moore, 1873 - 1874
- Chief William Curson, 1874 - 1875
- Chief Samuel Campel, 1875 – 1876
- Chief Mike Russell, 1876 – 1881
- Chief Jacob Sneider, 1881 – 1885
- Chief Frank Kreke, 1885 – 1886
- Chief R.C. Harrah,1886 – 1910
- Chief R.A. Parks, 1910 – 1911
- Chief John W. Gravenhorst, 1911 – 1915
- Chief Barney Utz, 1915 – 1916
- Chief Karl F. Alt, 1916 – 1918
- Chief Fred Casselman, 1918 – 1925
- Chief H. Bergfeld, 1925 – 1927
- Chief Henry Hoffman, 1927 – 1934
- Chief Frank Wilkins, 1934 – 1957
- Chief Chas. Champerlain, 1957 – 1973
- Chief Logan Van Dyke, 1973 – 1978
- Chief Maurice A. Braun, 1978 – 1988
- Chief Nicholas H. Althoff, 1988 – 2004
- Chief Joe Holomy, 2004 – 2018
- Chief Bob Tutko, 2018 – 2021