| Two Past Fire Chief's of the Huntingtown Volunteer Fire Department & Rescue Squad were honored Friday April 11 at the Annual Calvert County Volunteer Firemen's Association Awards Ceremony. Past Fire Chief & President William "Bill" Schrom III and Past Fire Chief Michael "Mike" Wells were inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Fire Chief Bill Schrom Biography:
Bill joined the Huntingtown Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad as a Charter Member in 1972 at the age of 23. In 1976 he was appointed as the departments first Fire Marshall and in 1979 he was elected Fire Chief holding the position for 2 years.
Later Bill moved to the administrative side of the department. He served on the Board of Directors from 1981 – 1983, 1990 – 1992, 2000 – 2003, and 2007, serving as the Chairman for several of those years. He also served as Treasurer and Vice President before being elected President, the office he held for 7 consecutive years from 1993 – 1999 and another 3 from 2004 – 2006.
Chief Schrom is the only member to be elected as both Fire Chief and President of our department. During his membership he was an active leader in the current and future progress of our department. One of Bill’s many accomplishments while President was his outstanding and tireless work on the new building addition. He orchestrated the land purchase, site and building engineering, and loan acquisitions. As point man for the project, he tied the various committees together facilitating this massive project. Bill was also instrumental in the oversight of the administrative staff as the department was taken into the automated stage of accounting and bookkeeping.
President Schrom’s talents, knowledge, and diplomacy have helped our department time and time again, especially with his dealings with outside agencies such as county and state officials. Because of this, Bill was appointed to the Calvert County Fire and Rescue Commission where he served for many years. During his tenure on the commission, Bill worked diligently to ensure all of the departments in Calvert County were well represented and the volunteer system stayed strong.
Unfortunately, on March 26, 2008, Bill succumbed to an illness. With over 35 years of service it was clear he had dedicated his life to the citizens of Huntingtown and Calvert County. Without his input through the years we can safely say the Huntingtown Volunteer Fire Department would not be where it is today.
Fire Chief Mike Wells Biography:
Chief Wells joined the Huntingtown Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad in 1973 at the age of 16. Mike was excited to serve the citizens of Huntingtown along side his father, mother, and brother.
Mike quickly graduated from fire school and received his EMT-A in 1974, a certification he has kept current for an impressive 40 years. He thrived for education taking every course MFRI had to offer. While taking these classes he still was able to obtain the top runner awards for many years in the 1970’s.
His knowledge and expertise cast him into the offices of Lieutenant, Captain, Assistant Chief from 1985-1989, and in 1990 Mike was elected Chief where he served for 3 years. Later, Mike moved to the administrative side of the department where he was Vice President and a member of the board of directors, of which he has served an outstanding 12 years.
Chief Wells has made countless contributions to the department but his biggest contribution is to the children of Huntingtown. Mike created the Huntingtown Santa Run in which Santa Claus visits all of the neighborhoods in Huntingtown passing out goodie bags full of fruit, candy, toys, and fire prevention materials. Mike and the members of the department reach approximately 2000 children a year. Chief Wells is dedicated to educating the children of Huntingtown and teaching them fire safety.
Without the expertise and leadership of Chief Wells over the last 40 plus years, the Huntingtown Volunteer Fire Department would not be where it is today. |
