After 21 years climbing the ladder, Grossenbaugh named Hinckley fire chief

12-year fire department member named assistant chief

by Marge Jones Palik

A month after graduating from high school 21 years ago, Jestin Grossenbaugh joined the Hinckley Fire Department. Last month, he was named chief.

Grossenbaugh, 40, of Brunswick, said some things have changed since he first volunteered with the department under Fire Chief Bill Horton.

“We were paid once a year back then,” he said. “We then went to quarterly, and now we are paid monthly.”

Training changed, too.

“We just had to have the state minimum training and did not need continuing education,’’ he said. ”Now, firefighters have to be basic EMTs and receive continual training.”

The position of Hinckley fire chief is part time, so Grossenbaugh will continue to work his other two jobs: training and shift captain at Highland Hills Fire Department and fire instructor at Cuyahoga Community College.

Grossenbaugh hopes to bolster the department’s staffing and equipment.

“I have plans to hire more firefighters/EMT/paramedics in the coming months to help fill openings we have in our roster,” he said. “Over the course of the next five years, we will be looking at grants to help replace some of our equipment that needs to be updated. The department plans on keeping on pace with the vehicle replacement plan as one of our fire engines will need to be replaced sometime in the near future.”

He also said the department needs to review population growth and “adjust our staffing/manpower to accommodate the future growth and expectation of service to our residents and visitors.”

Grossenbaugh is pleased he will have an assistant chief that he has been working with since 2006. Trustee voted July 3 to create the assistant chief position and appoint Lt. Gabe Gerbasi.

A Hinckley resident who joined the Hinckley Fire Department in 2006, Gerbasi’s full-time job is with the North Ridgeville Fire Department as a firefighter/paramedic. He is also a part-time firefighter in Richfield.

“I became a firefighter right out of high school,” he said. “The main inspiration at that time was to have a career in a culture that is similar to the Boy Scouts of America, which focuses on things like service, leadership and brotherhood. I saw the fire service as one of the only careers where I could do that. As I progressed through firefighter and paramedic training, I enjoyed the technical skills, because I enjoy physical work and critical thinking.’’

Gerbasi is enrolled in the fire administration bachelor’s program at Bowling Green State University.

“As I worked through college and the advanced training, I was further motivated to be a leader,” he said.

The new chief and his assistant have a good working relationship.

“We have been co-workers in several projects throughout the years, including handling EMS/fire incidents,” Gerbasi said. “Also, we worked closely during the hiring and screening for new cadets to the department, which has improved our manpower and quality of those we do hire.”