By Fran Spielman
The Chicago Sun-Times
CHICAGO — A third-generation Chicago firefighter whose father was killed in the line of duty was chosen by Mayor Daley on Wednesday to be the city’s new, $185,652-a-year fire commissioner.
Robert Hoff, 54, replaces John Brooks, who resigned two months after the Chicago Sun-Times reported that a sexual harassment complaint against him was allegedly swept under the rug.
“In addition to his bravery, he is an excellent administrator and a great leader,” Daley said of Hoff.
Tom Ryan, president of the Chicago Fire Fighters Union Local 2, added: “He’s a highly trained, highly decorated firefighter who knows the jobs inside out. The men and women all respect him because of his vast experience and his leadership qualities.”
When Hoff was just 5 years old, his battalion chief father, Thomas, died in a building collapse at 78th and Dorchester. He was 44.
“My father and another chief were sent in . . . to make sure all the firefighters were out of the building. As they were exiting, the roof collapsed,” Robert Hoff recalled.
Despite the tragic loss, Hoff said he never hesitated to follow in his father’s footsteps.
“I have to live up to his expectations. . . . I went to the cemetery Sunday on Father’s Day, and never did I believe I’d be standing here being asked to be fire commissioner. It’s a proud day,” he said. “I can’t wait to get up and go to work every morning. There’s no better feeling than helping people.”
Hoff is one of the most decorated firefighters in department history. He was twice awarded the Carter Harrison Award, the department’s highest honor for bravery.
In 1984, he suffered severe burns in an attic fire and spent 21 days in the burn unit. “The water was temporarily shut down. I was ahead of the hose line. I ventilated the attic, and I was caught in the flashover. I had to go back through the fire to get out,” Hoff recalled. “It was a flashback. . . . The day I got burned, my son was 5 years old.”
A 33-year veteran, Hoff served as incident commander for the team of Chicago firefighters who went to New York to assist after the Sept. 11 attacks and to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
In 2002, after reviving and revolutionizing firefighter training, Hoff abruptly resigned as director of training in an apparent protest over budget cuts he feared could undermine the city’s ability to respond to disasters. On Wednesday, that controversy was a distant memory.
“We’re doing a lot of training — a lot more than we’ve ever done — especially since 9/11. Our professionalism and our training is what’s gonna keep the citizens and visitors of this city protected,” he said.
Hoff said Chicago would continue to be a trendsetter among major cities in cross-training firefighters as paramedics to respond to the decline in fires and increase in calls for emergency medical service.
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