City swears in fire lieutenant; to hire 2 police officers

Avon Lake safety services will see new faces in the coming months with the Jan. 8 appointment of a new fire lieutenant, and two new police officers to join the ranks later this year.

Eric Wagner was sworn in as the new lieutenant with the Avon Lake Fire Department. Wagner took the oath of office administered by Law Director Abe Lieberman shortly after the Council Human Resources Committee voted 3-0 to approve the appointment.

Of the eight candidates, Wagner scored the highest on the city’s civil service examination. He is a 14-year veteran of the Fire Department.

“He has been highly recommended during the process that we use after the testing and during the evaluation,” said Avon Lake Mayor Greg Zilka before Council formally approved the promotion. “We are very pleased that Eric will be serving in the capacity as lieutenant if Council chooses to vote yes on this legislation, which I have a hunch they will.”

In other business, the Human Resources Committee approved a recommendation by Avon Lake Police Chief Duane Streator to move forward on hiring two police officers later this year.

Streator recommended hiring North Olmsted native Justin Gallagher as a full time patrol officer.

Streator requested Gallagher be sworn in Jan. 22 to allow him to immediately enroll in the Ohio State Highway Patrol Academy to obtain a peace officer certification.

Gallagher is expected to join the Avon Lake Police in June after completing training and will start a 14-week field training program. Streator added an interim officer needs to be hired to fill the gap in the police department in between the retirements and the time the new officers are ready for active duty.

Gallagher, 29, is a graduate of North Olmsted High School and the University of Toledo. Currently, he’s employed as a probation officer for Cuyahoga County in addition to serving as an auxiliary officer for the North Olmsted Police Department. Streator said the new officers would replace two officers who are expected to retire in early May. The Police Department is working to identify a candidate for the second opening.

“We are working with civil service to get another name and work through that process with the next candidate who will be from civil service,” he said.

Last month the city approved hiring two firefighters.