Climbing the ladder | |
 Louis Dezelan, chief of the Indianapolis Fire Department |
Abreakfast with two friends almost 25 years ago inspired Louis Dezelan, then a part-time student at IUPUI, to become a firefighter. Now, he’s at the top of the ladder since being appointed by Mayor Bart Peterson as chief of the Indianapolis Fire Departmen
t (IFD) last spring.
Those friends, IFD regulars, had been up all night on duty, recalled Dezelan. “The stories they told me were incredible…the things they had done that night while I was sleeping…” Dezelan said. “They dealt with people who were having the worst day of their lives, and they made it better.” Dezelan joined the force in July 1975, but continued his education, earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1977. His education gave him insight into people’s motivations, sources of anger and fear, and hierarchy of needs. Still a student, Dezelan is currently enrolled in postgraduate studies in social psychology and public management at IUPUI. His interests stretch beyond the classroom to new and varied fields. After copious research and a three-month stay in South Africa last year, he is writing a book about apartheid and the aftermath of the system’s dismantling. He also has authored numerous articles in firefighter and police trade magazines. And he hopes his belief in higher education encourages others in the IFD to follow his lead. The new chief plans to get firefighters more involved with their communities by making routine phone calls to neighborhood leaders and launching child-safety programs to prevent poisonings, drownings and gunshot injuries. He also aims to boost the health and physical fitness of firefighters by making all department vehicles and buildings smoke-free by 2001. One of Dezelan’s proudest accomplishments is receiving a fellowship to Harvard University’s Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Governments. He was one of just six fire chiefs nationwide to be awarded the fellowship in 1990. But, according to Dezelan, who manned response vehicles from 1975-1980 and served as the battalion chief at Station 13 from 1995 until earlier this year, nothing compares to his pride in the 744 firefighters who call him “Chief.” “It’s striking when you are in command of a house fire and watch our people at work,” he said. “It’s an incredible thing to watch.” |
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Publication date: September 29, 2000
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