Grossenbaugh resigns as fire chief

by Melissa Martin

Aug. 20 township trustees meeting

Fire Chief Jestin Grossenbaugh announced that he will retire from the department, effective Sept. 2.

Grossenbaugh, who has served as chief of the department since 2018, did not elaborate as to why he is stepping down other than “to pursue new endeavors.” He said he would be in the office for the last two weeks of his tenure.

The board of trustees voted unanimously to accept the chief’s resignation and Trustee Monique Ascherl wished the chief well.

“I am excited for you,” she said.

Grossenbaugh joined the Hinckley Fire Department 27 years ago upon graduating high school. He said he is “extremely proud” of his time with the department and extended his thanks to “all those who have supported me and the department.”

“I want to thank this community for allowing me to serve as a firefighter, lieutenant and, finally, chief of the department for the last 27 years of my life,” Grossenbaugh said in an open letter to the community that was posted on the Hinckley Ohio Firefighters Association Facebook page Aug. 20, minutes after the announcement was made at the board of trustees meeting.

As part of that letter, Grossenbaugh thanked the community for its ongoing support of the fire department, most recently in the form of a renewal levy and new levy.

“These levies allow us to give the best service and protection we can give by adding a third [firefighter] to each shift and now allowing us to hire full-time firefighters for the first time in our history,” he said, noting that in the six years he served as chief, the fire department was able to secure over $583,000 in grants, including $100,000 in private donations. “This has helped to offset our operating costs to secure new lifesaving equipment.”

Grossenbaugh said a FEMA grant enabled the department to replace all of its self-contained breathing air packs, a second multi-gas meter and a second thermal imaging camera. Thanks to private donations, he said the department was able to purchase a medical utility task vehicle (UTV) and a rescue bed insert that equip the department to handle rescues in rugged terrain, including Whipps Ledges, the park system and local farmlands.

“This [helps] us get injured people to the hospital safely and much faster,” he said. “It also reduced the labor-intensive removal out of those areas. The very first week the UTV was placed in service, it was used twice, including 24 hours after the board of trustees accepted the donation from the Hinckley Fireman’s Association.”

During Grossenbaugh’s tenure, the department was also able to lower the township’s ISO insurance rating.

“All of the hard work and dedication of hours of training, maintenance of equipment and much more helped us secure this improved rating,” he said. A lower rating suggests to insurance providers that an insure home is at a lower risk of fire damage and that the area where the home is located in well-equipped to prevent, mitigate and extinguish fires, according to the outgoing chief.  ∞