The Rochelle Fire Department will have a new Chief by the end of the year.
Brian Johnson has announced his retirement after 34 years with the department. His last day with the city will be next Friday.
Johnson began as a paid-on-call firefighter until he was hired full-time in 1985. He became a Lieutenant with the department in 2000.
Johnson was named Fire Chief in 2009 following the retirement of Tom McDermott.
He told Newstalk 1060 it's time to step down. Johnson said he loved being a fireman in Rochelle and worked with many great people in the department. They will always be his friends.
Johnson is also the Chief of the Ogle-Lee Fire Protection District along with being the Emergency Management Director for the city.
He plans to keep busy in the future with his volunteer work with Hub Cluter. Johnson also said that with his 2 children living in Rochelle, he will keep busy working on their houses.
City Manager David Plyman told Newstalk 1060 that he plans to talked with the 3 current Lieutenants next week as 1 will be named interim Fire Chief. The Lieutenants are Dave Sawlsville, Dan Miller, and Jason Underwood.
Plyman said that the city will advertise that the position is open and he hopes to have a new Fire Chief working for the city within 2 to 3 months.