By Katherine Ullmer
Dayton Daily News
Copyright 2007 Dayton Newspapers, Inc.
WASHINGTON TWP., Ohio — The changing of the guard in the Washington Twp. Fire Department — as former deputy chief Bill Gaul became fire chief July 1 upon the retirement of Fire Chief Ken Parks — has brought some other changes.
The department had been operating with just one deputy chief since 2001, but the growth of the department prompted the need to add a second, said retiring chief Parks.
The township trustees appointed two new deputy chiefs, Bob Kidd and Jim Neidhard, captains in the department, at their June 18 trustee meeting. Their appointments were effective July 1.
Kidd and Neidhard both have bachelor’s degrees and are enrolled in master’s degree programs in public administration, said Jess Lightle, deputy administrator for the township. Neidhard is studying at Wright State University and Kidd at the University of Dayton.
Each deputy chief heads one of the department’s two divisions, operations, which encompasses fire suppression and emergency medical services, or administration, which includes accreditation, personnel, training, vehicle maintenance, career development and other responsibilities, Lightle said.
They’ll trade duties every two years to increase cross training and leadership development, she said.
Neidhard, a fire captain since 2000, has been a shift commander and accreditation manager, Lightle said.
He chairs the department’s Wellness and Safety Committee and coordinates the firefighter fitness program, initiated the all-volunteer honor guard and reorganized and updated the department’s rescue services programs, she said. He’s also been working with the strategic plan committee. Neidhard got his undergraduate degree from OSU and earned an associate’s degree in public safety administration from Sinclair Community College.
Kidd became captain in 2001. He’s been a shift commander and has been responsible for overseeing the EMS budget and EMS quality improvement, Lightle said. He’s also been a scheduling officer and assisted with fire and EMS training sessions.
He trains more than 2,000 people per year in the state’s largest fire department CPR program and traveled to Thailand last year to help develop its EMS system, she said. Kidd earned his undergraduate degree in public safety administration from Capital University.