Wonder Lake fire chief retires Friday after 48 years

After 48 years with the Wonder Lake Fire Protection District, Mike Weber will walk out of Station 1 Friday for the last time as fire chief chief.

A formal walkout ceremony is set for 5 p.m. Friday at Fire Station 1, 4300 E. Wonder Lake Road.

“I have had the distinct honor of serving this department since 1977, beginning as a cadet, and growing alongside this district for nearly five decades,” Weber said in a prepared statement. “This firehouse is not just my workplace. It is my life’s work, my second family and a critical piece of the community, which I have committed my heart and career to.”

Weber announced his retirement on Aug. 7. He began his career there in September 1977 and was appointed chief – a part-time position – in January 2019.

Deputy Chief Matthew Yegge will step up as interim fire chief as the Board of Trustees determines next steps for the growing district, said Board President Todd Rishling.

The board plans also to discuss soon the possibility of hiring a third-party consultant to review the department’s budget, staffing and response times, Rishling said.

The department has grown in the past three years as new residences have come into its coverage area, including the 400-home Meadows at West Bay. Most of the massive Stonewater subdivision, expected to bring 3,700 homes into Wonder Lake, falls into the neighboring McHenry Township Fire Protection District.

The Wonder Lake-based district has two stations – one on the east side and one of the west side of the namesake lake.

One of the issues an outside consultant can officials determine, Rishling said, is whether “we continue to have two stations or go to one. But that big lake in the middle causes too much of an issue.”

Changes have been made based on the best data, he added. Three personnel and a shift commander, all part-time, are on duty at any time. Because the west side station at 3315 West Thompson Road had sleeping quarters, that building was staffed overnight.

“The call volume shows the majority of calls overnight comes from the east side,” Rishling said. So changes were made to allow for sleeping quarters at that station.

Station 1 is set to get water and sewer service from the village of Wonder Lake next year. That could allow for expansion once the existing septic field is abandoned.