Former fire chief  and business owner dies

by Sue Serdinak

Russell Raymond English, Richfield fire chief from 1963 to 1998 passed away, having lived his whole life in the center of Richfield. He was 91.

After graduating from Richfield School, English became a bus driver for the school and met his future wife, Connie, when she was a student riding the bus. They were married five years later, and English opened Russ’ Auto Body Shop on Broadview Road (then called West Richfield Road) in a small garage behind their home.

He and Connie raised two sons, Eric and Steve, in that home. Connie passed away in 2016.

Public service was in his nature so English joined the Richfield Township Fire Department in 1952 at the age of 21. He went on to serve as lieutenant, captain, assistant chief and then part-time chief in 1963. In 1975 he was named Richfield’s first full-time chief.

When the Coliseum was being built in the early 1970s, English oversaw its construction and established requirements for a pyrotechnics code and the use of foam in fighting fires. 

He created the first rescue squad in Richfield in 1958 and attended the first sanctioned paramedic certification class conducted by the state of Ohio in 1976. He and other members of the department built their own tanker and grass fire truck inside the fire station. They purchased a 1964 Oldsmobile and converted it to an ambulance, along with a Suburban Chevy panel truck. Richfield was the industry leader in emergency medical care when the interstate highways were being built, crisscrossing through Richfield. Richfield was the first community in the state to use  jaws-of-life equipment.

In anticipation of the ever-increasing cost of equipment, English worked with former Mayor June Feiber to create a fire truck fund. In 1982 he guided the department in converting from part-time to full-time fire fighters and paramedics. He also established the position of fire inspector. Along with neighboring fire chiefs, he campaigned to get enhanced 911 service throughout the area.

English was one of the first chiefs to recruit and train women to serve in the department.

During his years with the fire department, English’s body shop evolved into making add-on apparatus for fire trucks. Former Richfield Chief Phil McLean joined him in that business, which continues today under the name Sensible Products on Brecksville Road.

McLean organized a Last Alarm ceremony in Town Hall council chambers in memory of English with fire officials from around the state in attendance.

English’s legacy lives on in the Richfield fire department, in the people he trained, in the culture he created and in the business he founded.  ∞

Featured Image: Russ English served for 35 years as Richfield’s fire chief, and propelled the department to be a leader in the county and state.  Photo provided by Richfield Fire Department.