Longtime veteran takes over Frankfort Fire Protection District

FRANKFORT – Frankfort’s new fire chief never wanted to be anything other than a firefighter.

Some firefighters lived near where he grew up in Crestwood and brought the truck to the block party. His uncle sometimes would let him visit the Hometown firehouse where he worked. He enjoyed watching the TV show “Emergency,” which started airing not long after his family moved to New Lenox. And when the Frankfort Fire Protection District started a cadet program in the 1980s, he was among the first to join.

So, naturally, Bob Wilson started his career working at an auto parts supplier for several years.

But he also got his paramedic license and tested at several local agencies. He applied three times to the Frankfort district before he was hired because some felt he had “an attitude problem,” he recently recalled.

Once he came on in 1990, Wilson was “a young guy who just wanted to go to fires, but was advised to go for more training.” Wilson became a fire inspector, then moved into administrative roles. He served as Jim Grady’s assistant chief for 14 years until Grady retired last month and Wilson was promoted to the top spot.

“Chief Grady had been discussing his retirement for a few years and I’d been taking on and filling in on more and more of the administration,” Wilson said. “I’ve got the title, now I’m trying to find the groove.”

Wilson, who also serves as president of the Will County Fire Chiefs Association, wants the district to increase outreach to the public for home safety, especially for seniors.

“If people protect themselves against falls, it’s going to reduce the number of calls we have to go on, in the long run,” he said.

Wilson credits Grady with leading the district’s transition from volunteers to paid firefighters. He wants to have the agency receive professional accreditation during his administration and improve the district’s insurance ratings.