By Tom Kertscher
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Copyright 2007 The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
THIENSVILLE, Wisc. — One of Wisconsin’s oldest and longest-serving fire chiefs is retiring, leaving behind one of the few part-time fire departments in the state that is staffed with paramedics.
William Rausch, who turned 80 in July, has been with the Thiensville Volunteer Fire Department for 58 years, including the past 35 as chief. He announced this week he will retire Dec. 31, four months after his department celebrated 150 years of service.
Rausch said he’s seen many people his age pass away or become ill, so he wanted to step down while he is healthy. But he admits it will be hard to fill his free time, particularly after he finishes building a workshop, painting his shed and doing other odd jobs around the Thiensville home he shares with his wife, Pat.
“It’ll take a year to clean that up, and then I’ll be getting bored or fighting with my wife,” Rausch said with a smile.
Rausch grew up on Milwaukee’s north side before moving to Thiensville in late 1948. He earned his living on a line construction crew, working 41 years for Wisconsin Electric Power Co.
Rausch joined the fire department with his older brother, Leo, in 1949 after being recruited by his new next-door neighbor, Fire Chief Ed Hadler.
The department became a family pursuit. Leo Rausch, who died in December at 82, served with the department for 57 years. Pat Rausch, an emergency medical technician, served on the department for 25 years. So did Pat’s and William’s son, Bill, who rose to assistant chief.
Rausch said one of the most important accomplishments during his tenure was the establishment of the only paramedic-staffed fire department in Ozaukee County three years ago.
The paramedics, who have substantially more training than EMTs, respond to calls throughout the county and in some communities outside the county with which the department has contracts.
But Rausch said he is most proud of the 48 paid-on-call department members, including the nine paramedics, who handle 600 emergency and fire calls a year.
“I didn’t do that myself; you don’t do this by one guy,” Rausch said. “You need help, and I had a lot of it.”
Cedarburg Fire Chief Rich Van Dinter praised Rausch for helping organize Ozaukee County’s fire chiefs to work together and for taking a lead in acquiring communications equipment that enables emergency departments in the county to talk to each other.
Mequon Assistant Fire Chief Charles Neman praised Rausch for modernizing the Thiensville department and for his humility.
“Any time you talk to him, he says, ‘I don’t do it, my staff does it,’ ” Neman said.
Rausch did encounter some difficult times.
In 1998, the state Department of Commerce concluded in a report that his firefighters and fire victims were at risk because of problems within the department, including a lack of training and a lack of guidelines for firefighters involved in emergency operations.
In a follow-up inspection, the investigator determined that many of the problems were related to recordkeeping and the department was cooperating with his recommendations.
A year later, in 1999, Rausch’s work in fire prevention was cited when the state fire chiefs association named him fire chief of the year.
If he has any rivals for longevity, it is Kiel Fire Chief Bob Hennings, 79. Hennings has been chief as long as Rausch has but has worked for his department only 57 years, one less than Rausch.
Hennings said he plans to stay on as Kiel’s chief “as long as they want me.”
Village Administrator Dianne Robertson said the part-time chief’s position, which pays $15,472, will be advertised, and that the Village Board will choose a replacement after getting a recommendation from members of the department.
“We think it’s the best,” Rausch said of his department, “but every chief thinks his department is the best. If you didn’t think that, something’s wrong.”