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Deputy Chief Matthew Lohse 📸 Credit: Geneva City Council meeting on YouTube
Geneva's fire chief is stepping down this summer after three decades of service, and a replacement is already waiting in the wings.
The Geneva City Council voted to appoint Deputy Chief Matthew Lohse as the department's next fire chief. He'll succeed Chief Michael Antenore, who announced his retirement at the same meeting after 43 total years in fire service (30 of them in Geneva).
Here's what to know:
Antonori's tenure: The outgoing chief joined Geneva's fire department in 1995 as a paid on-call firefighter after answering a newspaper ad. He became chief roughly a decade ago. In his remarks to the council, he credited the department's safety record and called it the best job of his career.
Incoming chief's background: Lohse, a Batavia resident, has served as deputy chief for the past three years. He started in fire service in 1997 as a paid on-call firefighter in South Elgin before he was hired full-time in Geneva.
The transition: Antenore committed to a 90-day handover period working alongside Lohse before his departure. Lohse will take the position officially on August 15.
Lohse thanked the council and credited his wife for her support in getting him to this point.
"I'm very grateful for everything that the city of Geneva has given to me and given to my family," he said.
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