By Terry O’Connor
The Sarasota Herald Tribune
ENGLEWOOD, Fla. — He worked his way up from volunteer over a 32-year career
For every fire in Englewood for the past 32 years, odds are Fire Chief Mike Bonakoske helped put it out by answering the call or having aided training of the firefighters who did.
After Nov. 30, Bonakoske will leave the “smoke eating” to others. The longest-tenured firefighter in Englewood will take an early pension buyout as the Englewood fire district is seeking to cut 10 percent from its $6 million budget.
Deleting his $110,000 salary will help the Englewood Area Fire Control District meet the goal, but it will end a career that has seen remarkable change for the community agency.
“It’s just time,” said Bonakoske, 49. “The opportunity is there. It just clicks. Boom, I’m out.”
Englewood fire district Chairwoman Dee Hawkins called Bonakoske a “unique individual.”
“He has been there from the start,” she said. “Not too many people can say that. He worked his way up from being a volunteer.”
No longer will Bonakoske run into burning buildings while counting down survival time in his head.
“You have a mental clock,” he said. “Either we put the fire out or get out. I’ve had some close calls with roofs collapsing.”
One of his closest calls had nothing to do with fire. He was hospitalized after taking a nasty bite to the hand while pulling a crash victim from a car in a ditch.
“It took me a week to return to work,” Bonakoske said. “I wish I would have known what got me. It could have been a spider or snake.”
Secretary-Treasurer Charlie Bray said Bonakoske’s intimate knowledge of his district was a distinguishing characteristic.
“He really knew Englewood,” Bray said.
Bonakoske guided the fire department through its transition from all volunteers to paid professionals in 1980. Bonakoske’s credibility with state legislators in Tallahassee and local leaders in Sarasota and Charlotte counties helped the Englewood Area Fire Control District gain the funding to grow from two to seven fire stations with a firefighter training facility.
The district employs 57 firefighter-EMTs with 15 on duty every day covering 83 square miles of Charlotte and Sarasota counties. When Bonakoske started, Englewood was covered by three firefighters and two EMTs.
Bonakoske acted like a city manager in supervising all fire department activity, including payroll, purchasing, personnel, accounting, tax rolls and answering to the board of fire commissioners.
“It’s been fantastic. You know going into a fire that somebody’s got your back,” Bonakoske said.
“You don’t have to think twice about whether I should go in there. You know the people around you will do whatever they can to help you out. I’ll probably miss it.”
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