MONROE - With slightly more than two weeks under his belt, Monroe Fire Chief Dan Smits feels the support of a community, whether they know his job title or not, and hopes to call the city his home once he decides to retire years from now.
"I would be confident, and I would hope this is the place I would retire, and live," Smits said.
Hired by the Monroe Common Council earlier this month, Smits rose to the highest position he has held in his 40 years as a firefighter.
Smits' career began when he was an 18-year-old in Lansing, Illinois. In 1976, he took a job as a paid on-call firefighter with the local department before moving to Calumet City, Illinois. There he served through each rank, from engineer to lieutenant to assistant deputy chief for 26 years. He made the transition to deputy chief with the Crete Fire Department in Illinois.
The new chief took the oath of office March 8, as his daughter Karissa Mayer pinned the new badge to his uniform during council proceedings. Smits moved into his new home in Monroe that same day as well. He has tried to engage as much as possible with those around him since. Smits has also attended city meetings. He talked to the Board of Public Works about the upcoming parking expansion at the westside fire station and took in council proceedings for reference.
A self-professed "type A" personality, Smits makes a point to talk about a number of topics with relative strangers. He added that he has visited nearly every restaurant in Monroe and has enjoyed each one. He said he prefers to meet sales associates and community members without his uniform but sometimes it is unavoidable.
"I've had probably the most pleasurable experience there's been meeting people in the community," Smits said.
Smits acknowledged that two weeks is a short window to become acquainted with a team of firefighters, especially when nearly all work full-time jobs elsewhere. But he has tried to speak to as many on the department as soon as he can and hopes to continue positive operations he has seen within the Monroe Fire Department. So far, he has gone out on one call in the two weeks he has served as chief.
"I've seen a lot of good things within the department," Smits said. "My primary goal is just to lead them to be as efficient as they can and make sure they protect the community welfare."
Staff members within the city have been helpful, Smits said. Specifically, he said he believes in an effective relationship between emergency officials and has been taking time to discuss different topics with Monroe Police Chief Fred Kelley. Also serving as the city's Emergency Management Director, Smits said he and Kelley's ability to work together is vital to smooth operations when emergency events happen. Smits credited Kelley for his ability to welcome the new guy.
"I think one of the most important relationships is with the other part of public safety, which is the police chief, and I've found Fred extremely easy to get along with," Smits said.
A goal of his is to help Monroe businesses by being vigilant toward safety and responding quickly and efficiently to any problem. Smits said he once read a statistic that a large majority of business owners who experience a fire never open again, and Smits wants to make sure the department helps them avoid the problem by incorporating as much innovation as possible into every precaution.
Smits commended the city on its hiring process. He said each person involved was thorough and conducted their due diligence, and he said he plans to fulfill his duty to keep the community safe to the best of his ability.
"I would be confident, and I would hope this is the place I would retire, and live," Smits said.
Hired by the Monroe Common Council earlier this month, Smits rose to the highest position he has held in his 40 years as a firefighter.
Smits' career began when he was an 18-year-old in Lansing, Illinois. In 1976, he took a job as a paid on-call firefighter with the local department before moving to Calumet City, Illinois. There he served through each rank, from engineer to lieutenant to assistant deputy chief for 26 years. He made the transition to deputy chief with the Crete Fire Department in Illinois.
The new chief took the oath of office March 8, as his daughter Karissa Mayer pinned the new badge to his uniform during council proceedings. Smits moved into his new home in Monroe that same day as well. He has tried to engage as much as possible with those around him since. Smits has also attended city meetings. He talked to the Board of Public Works about the upcoming parking expansion at the westside fire station and took in council proceedings for reference.
A self-professed "type A" personality, Smits makes a point to talk about a number of topics with relative strangers. He added that he has visited nearly every restaurant in Monroe and has enjoyed each one. He said he prefers to meet sales associates and community members without his uniform but sometimes it is unavoidable.
"I've had probably the most pleasurable experience there's been meeting people in the community," Smits said.
Smits acknowledged that two weeks is a short window to become acquainted with a team of firefighters, especially when nearly all work full-time jobs elsewhere. But he has tried to speak to as many on the department as soon as he can and hopes to continue positive operations he has seen within the Monroe Fire Department. So far, he has gone out on one call in the two weeks he has served as chief.
"I've seen a lot of good things within the department," Smits said. "My primary goal is just to lead them to be as efficient as they can and make sure they protect the community welfare."
Staff members within the city have been helpful, Smits said. Specifically, he said he believes in an effective relationship between emergency officials and has been taking time to discuss different topics with Monroe Police Chief Fred Kelley. Also serving as the city's Emergency Management Director, Smits said he and Kelley's ability to work together is vital to smooth operations when emergency events happen. Smits credited Kelley for his ability to welcome the new guy.
"I think one of the most important relationships is with the other part of public safety, which is the police chief, and I've found Fred extremely easy to get along with," Smits said.
A goal of his is to help Monroe businesses by being vigilant toward safety and responding quickly and efficiently to any problem. Smits said he once read a statistic that a large majority of business owners who experience a fire never open again, and Smits wants to make sure the department helps them avoid the problem by incorporating as much innovation as possible into every precaution.
Smits commended the city on its hiring process. He said each person involved was thorough and conducted their due diligence, and he said he plans to fulfill his duty to keep the community safe to the best of his ability.