FISHERS –The Fishers Town Council officially appointed today Interim Chief Steven Orusa to the position of Fishers Fire Department Chief . Orusa has been Interim Chief since May 19th, following former Chief Lay’s resignation. He was Deputy Chief of the Fishers Fire Department for over a year, previously being Assistant Fire Chief of the City of Beach Park, IL.
“We are delighted to officially and permanently appoint Steve Orusa as the new Fishers Fire Department Chief,” said Fishers Town Council President Scott Faultless. “Chief Orusa is a dedicated 25-year veteran firefighter and exemplary professional. His experience and dedication are an asset to this organization, and we look forward to the accomplishments of the fire department under his leadership.”
Chief Steve Orusa oversaw a full-time department of 117 members in the City of Waukegan, IL. He has held additional positions as Training Officer, Flight Medic, Dive Team Rescue Leader, Hazardous Materials Teach Member, Director of Fire Academy, and Terrorism Task Force Unifies Command Instructor.
As Deputy Chief of the Fishers Fire Department, Orusa led the creation of a post incident analysis program to improve safe and effective service delivery by examining past performance. He also created an incident management team; some of whose members will be serving on the team managing the Super Bowl in 2012.
Chief Orusa is a frequently invited speaker on public safety leadership and development techniques. He has provided analysis on public safety diving for USA Today, Fire Chief Magazine, Fire Engineering Magazine, Dive Training Magazine, and has also appeared on MSNBC, FoxNews and CNN to provide expert analysis on water rescue disaster response.