Fire District keeps solid leadership

It’s exciting to know that a new era of leadership will begin on June 4 in the Perry Joint Fire District. On that day, Lt. Dominic Chiappone officially takes over as the district’s new chief. He’ll replace longtime Chief James McDonald, who is retiring on

McDonald has served about 19 ½ years as Perry Joint Fire District chief. He’ll be wrapping up a career of more than 40 years in the firefighting profession.

Although the district’s Fire Board faced a formidable challenge in selecting a replacement for McDonald, we feel that the panel proceeded carefully and thoughtfully in its quest to hire a new chief.

McDonald informed the board early last year that he intended to retire in June of 2022. The panel then said it would strive to choose a new chief from within the district at least a year ahead of McDonald’s retirement.

The intent of that hiring strategy was to have McDonald’s successor work closely with the chief for an extended period to ensure a smooth leadership transition.

Three high-ranking Perry Joint Fire District officers, including Chiappone, applied for the chief’s position.

“We got three candidates who were extremely qualified, any of whom would have been finely suited to run the fire district moving forward,” said Rick Walker, the Fire Board’s chairman.

Walker said all three prospects interviewed very well, and each provided a plan outlining how they would lead the fire district over the next five years.

“All of those (five-year plans) were amazing,” Walker said.

If there was one factor that distinguished Chiappone from the other chief prospects, it was the fact that he completed the Ohio Fire Executive Program, Walker noted.

The OFE Program assesses, enhances and refines the leadership qualities of fire chiefs, as well as high-potential senior officers who can move into positions of greater responsibility.

“It’s a 2 ½-year program (Chiappone) took on voluntarily before (the plan to replace McDonald) was ever even announced,” Walker said. “And I think that’s obviously the board’s opinion of how that put him over the top.”

In June of last year, the board announced it had selected Chiappone to eventually replace McDonald.

Chiappone said that working in conjunction with McDonald for nearly a year provided valuable insight into how the district’s chief functions.

“Chief McDonald is a big mentor of mine and just allowing me to sit day to day with him in the office and showing me what he does has helped out a lot,” Chiappone said.

Chiappone was sworn in as chief during the May 6 meeting of the Perry Joint Fire District Board. He recited the oath administered by Walker at the conclusion of the panel’s May 6 meeting.

Earlier during that gathering, the board officially appointed Chiappone to lead the district and set his starting salary at $104,809 per year.

Chiappone began working for the Perry Joint Fire District in 2004 as a part-time firefighter and paramedic. He was appointed as a full-time firefighter and paramedic in 2006, before earning the rank of lieutenant in 2018.

During his career with the district, Chiappone has performed duties as a fire instructor, inspector and investigator.

Chiappone said that becoming Perry Joint Fire District chief has been a goal of his for a while.

“So to achieve it feels really good,” he said.

In addition to his 18-year stretch in the Perry Joint Fire District, Chiappone worked part-time for the Fairport Harbor Fire Department from 2002 to 2008 and the Painesville Township Fire Department from 2004 to 2006.

Chiappone also earned an associate’s degree in fire science technology from Lakeland Community College in 2005.

The News-Herald believes that Chiappone will prove himself to be a worthy and highly qualified successor to McDonald, and hope that Perry area residents share our positive outlook.

Although the district’s Fire Board faced a formidable challenge in selecting a replacement for McDonald, we feel that the panel proceeded carefully and thoughtfully in its quest to hire a new chief.