On Tuesday night, the City of LaGrange announced LaGrange Fire Department Deputy Chief John Brant as the sole finalist for the LFD chief position. This marks another step in the process of replacing Director of Public Safety Lou Dekmar as the leader of the LFD.

Dekmar has been over both the LaGrange Police Department and the LFD for roughly a decade, and he said in March that he felt that it was time to separate the positions once more due to the rising population and needs of the city. After months of searching, the city announced that Brant was the sole finalist for the LFD chief during the regular meeting of the LaGrange City Council on Tuesday. He is expected to officially move into the position later this month.

“John has spent an enormous amount of time under Chief Dekmar’s leadership, and he will carry that leadership forward,” City Manager Meg Kelsey said. “We are very confident in his abilities and the direction that we are going to be moving toward in the future.”

Brant has served on the LFD for 23 years, 14 of those in a management position. Kelsey said that Brant was chosen for both his qualifications and achievements over the years. According to Brant, he plans to continue to ensure that the LFD grows and improves under his leadership.

“This last year has been an outstanding year for the fire department with accreditation, station 5 and work toward the new training center, but let us also remember that this year came with a terrible situation when six of our fire fighters were injured,” Brant said. “But, with every bad situation we hope something good comes from it. The fact that our folks were able to escape with their lives from that bad situation speaks volumes of our training. Also, the way the community came together to help these guys in their time of need was outstanding and emotionally touching. Our department is in a great place right now, and [Dekmar] has given us a great base to build on.”

Brant said that maintaining certification under the Commission on Fire Accreditation International will be a priority.  LFD is one of only 250 fire departments in the nation to receive the accreditation. Brant was instrumental in the accreditation process as well as helping the city attain a “2” ISO score, which can positively impact insurance rates. He said he also hopes to continue to meet with business owners to discuss community expectations and plans for additional prevention efforts. He also touched briefly on a new medical training program for LFD fire fighters.

“As fire chief, I will guarantee to come to work each day and work my hardest to make this fire department better,” Brant said. “My goal as fire chief is to be proactive in the community by meeting with community leaders, groups and organizations.”

He noted that he will not being doing that job alone, however.

“We have a great leadership staff that has bought into our leadership philosophy,” Brant said. “Our personnel believe in the direction of the fire department and work hard each and every day to ensure that we are headed in that direction.”

Even as he was congratulated by city council members, Brant thanked Dekmar for his contributions to the LFD.

“To Chief Dekmar, thanks for your leadership and direction these last 12 years,” Brant said. “You’ve taught me and our folks at the fire department more than you’ll ever know. You’ve been a great mentor and a great boss.”

Kelsey likewise thanked Dekmar.

“I want to extend a big thank you to Chief Dekmar for helping me in this process and also for guiding the fire department for all these years in service as our director of public safety,” Kelsey said. 

Brant will officially assume the position of LaGrange fire chief on Nov. 27, after the LaGrange City Council has approved the re-creation of the position following the second reading of the measure.

Dekmar has been over both the LaGrange Police department and the LFD for roughly a decade, and he said in March that he felt that it was time to separate the positions once more due to the rising population and needs of the city. After months of searching, the city announced that Brant was the sole finalist for the LaGrange Fire Fighter chief during the regular meeting of the LaGrange City Council on Tuesday. He is expected to officially move into the position later this month.

“John has spent an enormous amount of time under Chief Dekmar’s leadership, and he will carry that leadership forward,” City Manager Meg Kelsey said. “We are very confident in his abilities and the direction that we are going to be moving toward in the future.”

Brant has served on the LFD for 23 years, 14 years of that in a management position, and Kelsey said that Brant was chosen for both his qualifications and achievements over the years. According to Brant, he plans to continue to ensure that the LFD grows and improves under his leadership.

“This last year has been an outstanding year for the fire department with accreditation, station 5 and work toward the new training center, but let us also remember that this year came with a terrible situation when six of our fire fighters were injured,” Brant said. 

“But, with every bad situation we hope something good comes from it. The fact that our folks were able to escape with their lives from that bad situation speaks volumes of our training. Also, the way the community came together to help these guys in their time of need was outstanding and emotionally touching. Our department is in a great place right now, and [Dekmar] has given us a great base to build on. We will re-evaluate every service and program and make adjustments as needed.”

Brant said that maintaining certification under the Commission on Fire Accreditation International will be a priority.  LFD is one of only 250 fire departments in the nation to receive the accreditation. Brant was instrumental in the accreditation process as well as helping the city attain a “2” ISO score, which can positively impact insurance rates. He said he also hopes to continue to meet with business owners to discuss community expectations, plans for additional prevention efforts and touched briefly on a new medical training program for LFD fire fighters.

“As fire chief, I will guarantee to come to work each day and work my hardest to make this fire department better,” Brant said. “My goal as fire chief is to be proactive in the community by meeting with community leaders, groups and organizations.”

He noted that he will not being doing that job alone though.

“We have a great leadership staff that has bought into our leadership philosophy,” Brant said. “Our personnel believe in the direction of the fire department and work hard each and every day to ensure that we are headed in that direction.”

Even as he was congratulated by city council members, Brant thanked Dekmar for his contributions to the LFD.

“To Chief Dekmar, thanks for your leadership and direction these last 12 years,” Brant said. “You’ve taught me and our folks at the fire department more than we’ll ever know. You’ve been a great mentor and a great boss.”

Kelsey likewise thanked Dekmar.

“I want to extend a big thank you to Chief Dekmar for helping me in this process and also for guiding the fire department for all these years in service as our director of public safety,” Kelsey said. 

Brant will officially assume the position of LaGrange fire chief on Nov. 27, after the LaGrange City Council has approved the recreation of the position following the second reading of the measure.