Tinley Park Appoints 1st Fire Department Chaplain Through New Program

TINLEY PARK, IL — Village officials voted to appoint Pastor Ricci DelPriore to the newly formed Tinley Park Fire Department Chaplain role. According to fire officials, the pastor will serve firefighters' religious and spiritual needs during rough days on the job.

Fire Chief Steve Klotz told Patch the Fire Department Chaplain Program has been on his mind since he began with the department. While programs are in place to connect firefighters to others in need of someone to lean on, Klotz said many firefighters expressed they often wanted someone outside of the department entirely to reach out to.

"We can fit them with the best gear, the best materials but based on the stress, emotional tension and extreme physical conditions our firefighters are seeing every day the one thing we're not addressing is the emotional stress part of the job," Klotz said during a board meeting last month.

Chaplains are representatives from a specific religion who are attached to private institutions or departments. Typically, the position is a volunteer role where chaplains are on call to offer confidential support, even to those who are not a member of their congregation.

Klotz said the program is in the beginning stages with one pastor — DelPriore — who has volunteered for the role so far. Down the line, the fire chief said he'd like to expand the program to designate up to four different chaplains from multiple religions to be available for firefighters.

The Tinley Park Fire Department employs over 100 firefighters. While the first chaplain is a Christian, Klotz said he will be looking for chaplains to represent other faiths and denominations within the next few months.

The Tinley Park Police Department and the fire department have had chaplains in the past but said the role depended on volunteers without much consistency. Klotz said he hopes a general policy in support of a chaplain program will make the role permanent.

"We're so thankful for [DelPriore's] willingness to give up his time to serve the members of the Tinley Park Fire Department," Klotz said.