After 29 years with Evanston Fire & Life Safety Services, Fire Chief Alan Berkowsky will retire today.
Fire & Life Safety officials have organized a retirement ceremony at 2 p.m. at the Lorraine H. Morton Civic Center, 2100 Ridge Ave. Evanston and Northwestern officials will remember Berkowsky for giving out candy and insisting NU build a fire lane next to the Kellogg School of Management.
Berkowsky joined Evanston Fire & Life Safety as a firefighter paramedic in 1981. He was promoted to captain in 1990, then to fire marshal in 1995 and eventually became fire chief in June 2004.
Berkowsky said he always wanted to be a paramedic in high school because he could not see himself sitting in an office like his classmates, who were aspiring to become accountants, doctors and lawyers. He wanted to be able to directly help those in need.
“I never want to be in a situation where, if someone were in trouble, I couldn’t help them,” he said.
He had a chance to apply his training shortly after becoming a paramedic, when someone called him at his house because a 3-year-old boy had fallen into a pond. The boy could not breathe, even after being pulled from the water. Berkowsky rescued the boy, who made a full recovery.
Berkowsky said he will most miss working with his staff. Of all his experiences, he said he will always remember the death of fellow firefighter Marty Leoni in a house fire on July 22, 1985.
“I’ve been with (my colleagues) 29 years, so they’re like your family,” he said. “You watch out for them, and they watch out for you.”
Captain Alan Lermer, who has worked under Berkowsky, said he thinks Berkowsky tries to be fair and has worked closely with the labor union.
“One of the best things that have come about since he’s been chief is that he’s been willing to sit down and listen to labor and work with them to make the department a better and safer place,” Lermer said.
Berkowsky put candy in his office to encourage firefighters to stop and talk to him when visiting headquarters. His Bull’s Eye Caramel Creams are one of his trademarks, he said.
City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz said he prefers going to Berkowsky’s office rather than asking Berkowsky to come to the civic center for meetings because he enjoys the candy.
“I’ll miss his leadership, but I’m also going to miss his caramel and cream candies,” Bobkiewicz said.
Berkowsky helped improve fire prevention facilities at NU when he was a fire inspector and captain in 1990. He said he realized the importance of fire safety at the Evanston Campus after visiting a fraternity. He saw that a student would have to climb over a bed, out a window and down into an emergency exit to escape a third-floor fire. He worked closely with the Office of Risk Management, and together they built sprinklers in every dormitory.
Because of his involvement with NU, school officials named a required fire lane after Berkowsky as a joke, said Michael Whalen, an assistant to Berkowsky who has worked with him throughout his career.
When Kellogg was under construction, Berkowsky said the University needed a fire lane because the new buildings blocked access to Deering Library for fire engines. University officials fought the decision, but he insisted they could not use the building without the fire lane. Eventually, NU built the fire lane.
“They called it Alan Berkowsky Way and they put a big blue sign up there,” Berkowsky said. “And then obviously they said, ‘You got your way.'” The University later gave him the sign as a souvenir.
Berkowsky said he is not sure of his future plans. He may continue with fire prevention or pursue his interest in antiques.
“I’m just thinking about taking it easy for the next two, three months and figuring it out from that point on,” he said. “I want to see what it’s like to be bored.”[email protected]
