Retiring OH Fire Chief to Stay Part Time During Pandemic

SOLON, OH—Mayor Ed Kraus is grateful that Fire Chief William Shaw has offered to continue working for the city’s fire department in a part-time capacity to assist with the ongoing coronavirus public health emergency.

Shaw’s retirement after 20 years as the city’s fire chief is effective March 27.

“I think you saw in the last few weeks everything that Bill has done to step up to the plate,” Kraus said at the March 16 City Council meeting. “That’s kind of what Bill has done throughout his 20-year career in this department.”

In an interview Thursday (March 19), Shaw said that he and Kraus had not yet defined his specific role with the department, but he expected those details to be worked out soon.

“It will depend on how long the coronavirus outbreak continues,” he said. “It’s really specific to this ongoing situation.”

Shaw said that dealing with the COVID-19 crisis is perhaps the greatest challenge he has faced during his career.

“It’s the speed, which is something we have never experienced before,” he said. “We’ve been prepared as a fire department for infectious disease; we deal with that every day.

“But the speed at which this is happening is just mind-boggling, which is causing its own set of challenges. But so far, we are keeping up with it.”

Deciding to retire

Shaw, 60, said he would have been required to retire next year under the fire department’s pension program, the Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP), but he decided to step down a year early.

“Quite frankly, it came down to family,” he said. “I have grandchildren I don’t get to spend enough time with. I felt I had to make sacrifices as a father to my four daughters, and I don’t want to have to do with that my grandchildren.”

Shaw, of Mentor, is retiring from a 35-year career in fire service.

Before being appointed Solon’s fire chief in February 2000, he served for 15 years with the Willoughby Hills Fire Department. He started there as a firefighter/paramedic and worked his way up to executive captain and fire chief.

Shaw also served as a part-time patrolman for the Wickliffe Police Department from 1992 to 1998. He said that position actually involved fire investigation.

“The management I worked with felt it was a benefit to have fire investigators as police officers to improve our investigative skills,” he said.

“That experience was fantastic. It was a great department to work for. As part-time officers, they let us function pretty much as full-time officers.”

Shaw said his experience in that position really helped him in working with police officers in Solon and in understanding some of the challenges they face on the job and how they can work with the fire department.

“Working in Solon has allowed me to utilize all of the skills and knowledge to the best of my abilities,” he said. “This is such a challenging job and city, with its industry and diverse population and reputation, and it really forces a department head to be the best they can be.

“I like the challenge; I really have to be on my A game, because that’s the expectation. So that in itself kind of forces you to be well trained and to keep current with what’s going on and looking for new ideas. I certainly was never bored.”

The new fire chief

Mark Vedder, assistant fire chief for the Chagrin Valley Fire Department in Chagrin Falls, was appointed by City Council on Monday (March 16) to replace Shaw as fire chief.

Vedder, whose start date is March 30, retired in 2013 from the Solon Fire Department after 34 years of service, most recently serving as a battalion chief.

“I’ve known Mark Vedder since coming here (in 2000),” Shaw said. “It absolutely should be a smooth transition.”

Shaw said he and Vedder already have met to go over operations in the department and that he’ll be coming in a few days next week to continue those discussions.

Vedder, of Chagrin Falls, has served on the Chagrin Valley Fire Department since 1974. He also previously served as a lieutenant with the Russell Township Fire Department and as a firefighter/paramedic for the Bainbridge Township Fire Department.

Shaw said it would be difficult for him to single out highlights of his career in Solon, as there have been many. But he cited the opening of the city’s two newest fire stations, for “making sure our personnel have the best facilities and work environment possible.”

Fire Station 2, at Bainbridge and SOM Center roads, was rebuilt and opened in July 2008, and and Fire Station 3, at SOM Center and Pettibone roads, opened in November 2003.

“Solon has provided me some great opportunities, and for that I will be forever grateful,” he said. “Together, we’ve achieved many successes, and those achievements were not because of any one person. They were accomplished due to a great bunch of people that I got to work with. I’m very proud to have served here.”

Shaw, who grew up in Kent and Louisville, earned a bachelor’s degree in business management from Bowling Green State University. He’s also a graduate of the executive office fire program of the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Md., and has an associate degree in fire science technology from Lakeland Community College in Kirtland.

From 1992 to 2008, Shaw was a part-time instructor in fire science technology and emergency management at Lakeland Community College. He served as president of the Ohio Fire Chiefs Association in 2015-16.

Shaw and his wife, Denise, have been married 35 years. They have four daughters -- Rebecca, Megan, Alyssa and Erin -- and two grandchildren.

“Denise is my rock and my foundation,” he said. “She’s been so understanding of all the years of late-night phone calls, not being where I said I was going to be, and she understood and never complained, and I can’t thank her enough for that.”

When asked about plans for his retirement, Shaw replied, “That’s a great question, and I really don’t know.”

“I’ve worked pretty much since I was 9 years old, doing something, so I will try to see what life is like without work,” he said. “I don’t know how long that will last. But I think I will give retirement a try for a little bit before entertaining any other ideas.”

Nonetheless, Shaw said he will miss Solon and the people he has worked with when the time comes for him to step away for good.

“This is a great city to work for; they care about their people,” he said. “This is a great department to work for; we really do have some great people.

“As I said (at a recent council meeting), if I ever get sick, I want it to be here, because we have the best paramedics in Northeast Ohio. The city of Solon can rest assured that the department will continue to operate at a high level with the folks we have and with Mark Vedder at the helm.\u00ad”

Read more from the Chagrin Solon Sun.

———

©2020 The Plain Dealer, Cleveland

Visit The Plain Dealer, Cleveland at www.cleveland.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.