Kankakee’s Lt. Porter wears 2 hats, joins Bradley fire force

Veteran Kankakee Fire Department Lt. Brian Porter is going to be a busy man.

He is now wearing two hats, one for the Kankakee Fire Department and another for the Bradley Fire Department.

The 43-year-old, 17-year member of the Kankakee Fire Department – the past two-plus years serving as one of the department’s 10 lieutenants – has been hired as a neighboring department’s deputy chief.

Porter was recently hired as the part-time deputy chief for the Bradley Fire Department, where he will serve under interim Chief Jim Spoon.

Porter will earn a $68,000 salary. He will work about 25 hours per week in Bradley and maintain his full-time position with Kankakee.

His first day with Bradley Fire was July 23.

“I am up to the challenge,” he said after Monday’s Bradley Village Board meeting, where he was introduced to the village board. “I felt like I have something to give. I’m coming back to where I got my start.”

Porter served as a part-time, paid-on-call firefighter for Bradley from 2005-08. He also served as a full-time officer for the Troy Fire Protection District from 2006-08 prior to joining the Kankakee force.

Kankakee Fire Chief Bryan LaRoche said there is no policy within Kankakee to prevent an officer from working for two departments.

He said Bradley has made a good addition to its department.

Mayor Mike Watson noted Kankakee has a highly professional fire department, and Porter demonstrated those skills during the interview process.

Porter was one of three candidates interviewed by Bradley.

Porter is a 2005 graduate of Carl Sandburg High School in Orland Park.

“He brings youth, [as well as] the latest and the best practices to Bradley,” Watson said after the board meeting. “Kankakee is a very professional organization.”

Watson was asked about the status of Bradley filling the fire chief’s position. He only said the “search for a chief continues.”

Bradley is being aided in its search by the Illinois Fire Chiefs Association.

Bradley has been seeking a chief since the January retirement of then-Chief Don Kaderabek. Spoon has previously said he is interested in the Bradley position.

Spoon has been with the Bradley department since June 2024, when he was hired as its deputy chief.

Spoon also has been a long-time member of the Momence Fire Protection District. He has been the chief in Momence since December 2016.