Evanston Fire Chief Alan Berkowsky has announced the promotion of Firefighter/Paramedic Thomas Janetske to division chief of Fire Prevention/Emergency Preparedness.
Janetske will begin his new position on June 23. Janetske has served with the Evanston Fire Department for 18 years and has a total of 25 years in the public safety field.
Over the last eight years, he has also functioned as the assistant emergency preparedness manager. He will now handle emergency preparedness for the entire city.
Janetske is responsible for and has participated in the development of the city’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), Medical Reserve Corps (MRC), and the overall emergency preparedness plan for the City.
He has responded to local, state and federal emergencies including Hurricane Katrina, LaSalle County Tornado Recovery ( Utica ) and Cook County flooding incidents.
His committee involvement includes Cook County Urban Area Security Initiative, Illinois Emergency Services and Management Association, Illinois Terrorism Task Force and others.
In addition to his emergency management skills, the new division chief has fire prevention experience and has the certification for fire investigator from the Office of the State Fire Marshal.
He will be in charge of the Fire Prevention Bureau which enforces the Fire, Building, and the Life-Safety Code; investigates fires for causes and origins; reviews plans for all new construction; witnesses the testing of all fire and life-safety systems such as fire alarms, emergency lighting, sprinklers, etc.; and public education.