Three recruits joined the Sycamore Fire Department this week, but there are more positions to fill within the department.

Sycamore City Manager Michael Hall said on Monday that Sam Carlson, Kevin Finnelly and Jake Noble were hired to fill positions that had gone vacant after resignations and retirements within the fire department over the past year.

“These hires are filling positions that became vacant through normal attrition, including retirements and resignations, which have occurred over time rather than at a single point,” Hall wrote, while confirming another position has yet to be filled.

Hall was asked when the most recent resignation or retirement from the fire department (as well as the third most recent) occurred. He told Shaw Local the three new hires are filling positions that became vacant “over approximately the past 12 months.”

“I do not have exact dates immediately available, but the most recent vacancy occurred within the past several months,” Hall wrote.

In early March, Hall wrote that the department was operating “normally and emergency services remain fully staffed and available to the community.”

The newest members of the Sycamore Fire Department were called “replacements” by city officials this week in a social media post that announced their onboarding. Their addition to the Sycamore Fire Department comes amidst a sudden change in the department’s leadership.

On March 5, after a Sycamore firefighter said they were working under a new acting fire chief, Hall confirmed to Shaw Local that former Fire Chief Bart Gilmore had been placed on leave.

Gilmore told City Council members on Feb. 2 that a ladder truck the city purchased for $1.4 million in 2025 was not used to respond to a fire that destroyed the former Tom & Jerry’s Restaurant on Jan. 31. He said the crew assigned to Fire Station No. 2, where the truck was stored, was out on another call when the fire broke out.

“We are currently working with the city manager and staff to come up with a hiring plan,” Gilmore said during the February Sycamore City Council meeting. “What I would ask of this Council is that whatever comes out of that discussion, that you’d be willing to support it.”

Gilmore was placed on non-disciplinary paid leave on Feb. 25, a week before the public became aware of the change, records show. In April, he and city representatives signed a voluntary separation agreement that set the end of his employment with the city for June 26, 2026.

Mike Thomas, a former DeKalb Fire Chief who retired in 2025 after more than 30 years with the department, became the interim Sycamore fire chief on March 10. He said he planned to talk about the department’s staffing with city officials when the time was right.

Hall and Sycamore Mayor Steve Braser, citing city policy, have repeatedly said they cannot comment on Gilmore’s departure.

In early March, the city of Sycamore issued a news release on fire department staffing without mentioning Gilmore. On Monday, Hall wrote that a fourth fire department hire is expected before the start of summer.

“The Department is currently in the process of filling one remaining vacancy, which is expected to be filled within the next 4 to 6 weeks,” Hall wrote.

Sycamore Fire currently operates with three 24-hour shifts. During those shifts, there are three firefighters assigned to each of the city’s two fire stations, as well as a Battalion Chief who oversees department operations, Hall wrote. Hiring firefighters capable of filling a role on those shifts isn’t an immediate process, however.

“It involves testing, establishing an eligibility list, and coordinating academy and training schedules, which can take several months to complete,” Hall wrote. “As a result, there is often a gap between when a vacancy occurs and when a position is filled.”

Carlson, Finnelly and Noble aren’t the only new first responders in Sycamore.

“In addition to the recent Fire Department hires, the City has also approved three new positions in the Police Department,” Hall wrote.

He described the process used to hire the new officers as standard, and wrote that the police department also has one remaining vacancy officials hope to fill in the next four to eight weeks.