Glenview Fire Chief Globerger to Retire, Deputy Chief Ensign Will Be Named Chief

The following press releases are from the Village of Glenview. The first announces Fire Chief Wayne Globerger’s retirement. The second announces that Deputy Fire Chief Ralph Ensign has been chosen to succeed him.

Photo: Ensign (left) and Globerger. Courtesy of the Village of Glenview.

After 27 years with the Glenview Fire Department – eight of them as Fire Chief – Wayne Globerger has announced his retirement.

Globerger’s last day with the department will be December 19, 2014. “Chief Globerger has been a dynamic leader, known for his work ethic and team approach,” said Village Manager Todd Hileman, who promoted Globerger to Chief in 2006. “We will miss not only his candor and communication abilities but also his tremendous sense of humor.”

Globerger began his career with the Knollwood Fire Department in Lake County and then spent two years with the St. Augustine Fire Department in Florida.

He joined the Glenview department in 1987 as a firefighter/paramedic and moved steadily up the ranks. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1996, to captain in 2001 and to deputy chief in 2003, becoming responsible for managing daily operations for the department’s more than 80 employees and five fire stations.

Under Globerger’s leadership, the department reconstructed Fire Station 7 at 3507 Glenview Road; remodeled Fire Station 8 at 1901 Landwehr Road; and planned the replacement facility for Fire Station 6, which is now under construction south of Village Hall at 1215 Waukegan Road. A joint Fire/Police Fire Investigation team was implemented. In 2012, the Villages of Glenview and Northfield began sharing the response capabilities of an aerial ladder truck, an arrangement that more effectively and efficiently uses resources.

In September 2005, Globerger led a crew of about 60 Illinois firefighters in Louisiana’s St. Bernard Parish following Hurricane Katrina. He has served as the president of the MABAS Division III Executive Board since 2010. The Mutual Aid Box Alarm System’s Division III is a partnership of 19 communities in the northern suburbs to provide personnel, equipment and resources to one another when needed. He has also served on the Board of Directors of the Northeastern Illinois Public Safety Training Academy (NIPSTA) since 2008 and since 2011 as Chairman of the Fire Core Cost Containment Committee for Northwest Municipal Conference’s Suburban Purchasing Co-op.

“Looking back at my career, it’s been wonderful,” Globerger said. ”I’ve enjoyed working with Village staff, the public and my peers. I will miss the people who have touched my life.”

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Deputy Fire Chief Ralph Ensign has been picked to become the Glenview Fire Department’s new chief. Ensign will succeed Chief Wayne Globerger, who retires December 19, 2014 after 27 years with the department, the last eight as chief.

“This was an easy decision. Ralph Ensign was the obvious choice to lead the department,” Village Manager Todd Hileman said. “He has a strong work ethic, impeccable integrity and a solid relationship with the Fire Department employees.”

A native of Northfield and graduate of New Trier High School, Ensign joined the Glenview Fire Department in February 2008 as Deputy Fire Chief. He started his fire service career as a firefighter/paramedic with the Winnetka Fire Department in 1976, after earning a bachelor’s degree in fire service management from Southern Illinois University. He served “on loan” as temporary Fire Chief of the Winnetka Fire Department in 2010, while a permanent chief was sought.

Hired by the Highland Park Fire Department in 1978, he was promoted to lieutenant in 1989; to captain in 1991, and left in 2008 as a battalion chief. Ensign has also been a paid-on-call and paid-on-premise firefighter with the Northfield Fire-Rescue Department, where his father retired as assistant chief in 1979.

As Deputy Fire Chief, Ensign has been responsible for managing daily operations for the department’s more than 80 employees and five fire stations. For the last two years, a major task for Ensign has been planning and managing construction of a replacement fire station in the downtown Glenview area. Fire Station 6 at 1815 Glenview Road was torn down to make way for Midtown Square, a retail and apartment complex under construction on the 1800 block of Glenview Road. The new Fire Station 6 being built just south of Village Hall, at 1215 Waukegan Road, is expected to be operational by the end of the year.Ensign was a founding member of and assisted in the development of the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) Division III Hazardous Materials Response Team. MABAS Division III is a partnership of 19 north suburban communities to provide personnel, equipment and resources to one another when needed.