ROCHELLE — One summer Zech VanVickle was building a house for a firefighter. 

“He brought me in and thought I'd be a good fit for the fire department and I jumped right into a firefighting class and I've been doing it ever since,” VanVickle said. “It's been about five years now."

VanVickle was recently hired full-time by the Rochelle Fire Department as a firefighter/paramedic and started on Thursday. He’s the department’s 13th full-time firefighter and the move was made due to the department absorbing “quite a bit” of overtime recently, Rochelle Fire Chief Dave Sawlsville said. 

The department had 12 firefighters, not counting Sawlsville, for the past 15 years. The number of calls goes up every year, Sawlsville said. The number of EMS calls has continuously risen for 20 years. Fire calls have trended down and leveled off “a bit,” Sawlsville said. 

“Predominantly, easily 80-85 percent of what we do is EMS or ambulance calls,” Sawlsville said. “But those continue to go up. We hired additional staff 15 years ago but as time goes on they earn more vacation time so they're gone which creates a vacancy. We have to staff four personnel 24/7. We try to fill with paid on-calls, but we can't always do that. A 13th full-timer will fill that space and cut down on some overtime for us. We're glad to have him."

VanVickle is a Rochelle native and started working with the department part-time in 2018. He’s been on Ogle-Lee Fire since 2016 and has worked closely with Rochelle Fire over that time. 

"It was a long-term goal of mine to work here,” VanVickle said. “It's nice to be able to work in a full-time capacity with everyone. I like the EMS side. It's a passion of mine, being able to help people with medical issues. And obviously firefighting is a big part of our job, being safe about it and helping conserve property."

VanVickle comes to the department as an already-certified firefighter with a paramedic license. He was able to hit the street on day one and didn’t need any additional training, Sawlsville said. 

The department has talked about adding an additional firefighter/paramedic for a number of years, Sawlsville said. 

“We're thrilled to have him,” Sawlsville said. He's smart, motivated and well-trained."

VanVickle called working in his hometown “very fulfilling.”

“It feels like I've accomplished something and it's nice to be able to serve my community and give back to the community that's given me so much,” VanVickle said. “I'm happy to be here and excited to see where my career takes me."