Ted Finco Honored by Wakefield City Council for His Years of Exceptional Service

WAKEFIELD, MI - Tuesday, April 14, 2009 - "WHEREAS, Theodore 'Ted' Finco has served on the Wakefield Volunteer Fire Department for 40 years, starting September 1968; and

WHEREAS, Theodore Finco has served the interests of the City Department by being a member of the Gogebic County Training Council for years; and 

WHEREAS, Theodore Finco has served 14 years as the Wakefield Volunteer Fire Chief; and

WHEREAS, Theodore Finco has served on the U.P. Chief's Board of Directors for 12 years.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that I, Richard Bolen, Mayor of the City of Wakefield, do hereby proclaim April 17, 2009 as 'Ted Finco Day' in the City of Wakefield."

April 17, 2009 was proclaimed "Ted Finco Day" by Mayor Richard Bolen and the Wakefield City Council. At the regularly scheduled Wakefield City Council meeting last night friends and family came to honor Ted Finco. Ted has retired as Chief of the Wakefield Volunteer Fire Department after being Chief for fourteen years, but he remains on board as a Volunteer Firemen.

Ted joined the Wakefield Fire Department in September of 1968. He joined as Assistant Chief under Chief Jim Rolando and also served under Chief Tony Valesano for many years.

Ted said "When I joined the department, there were not any schools available to teach the men to be firefighters. We learned by watching the older firemen and asking questions. The schooling became available in the early 1980’s. It used to be 61 hours of training per fireman; now it’s gone up to 155 hours of training per fireman. "

Today Ted is still the President of the Gogebic Fire Training Council. A position he's held for many years.

Back when Chief Finco joined the department, the city had a 1940 Ford and a 1965 Chevrolet fire truck. Both were very good fire fighting trucks. In 1977 the city purchased a new Ford fire truck; and again in 1991 purchased a new Seagrave truck. It was one of the best made. At present we have a 2006 Freightliner/Simmons fire truck.

Ted states "Some of the other big changes since I joined in 1968 are the fact that we now use SCBA’S (Self Contained Breathing Apparatus), a new type of turn out gear; bunker pants, short jackets, short boots, and much improved helmets. There are also women firefighters in some departments."

Lou Bonagura, IronwoodInfo.com