NHP Fire Chief Willers Climbed The Ranks

The newly elected Chief John Willers has been a fixture in the ; he was the fourth chief four years ago and has steadily gone up the ladder. Willers was also a captain three times, he said.

As chief, Willers hopes to obtain more grants to upgrade the department's equipment and to help the other chiefs further their projects. He is also working on getting the department's training upgraded.

Of becoming the chief, Willers said, "It's a great honor and privilege." He added that the department puts in a lot of effort and give up a lot to help people. Willers noted that the guys in the department are constantly leaving dinner early and that being a fireman is a 24/7/365 kind of position.

In fact, recently Willers was on his way to work when he passed by a car that seemed like it was having problems in Mineola under a trestle. Willers stopped, noticed that the man in the car seemed to have passed away while driving and that the car was still moving. He put the car in park and helped to get the man out of the car.

"I was on my way to work, but I can't not stop," Willers said.

Now that Willers has become chief, he said that he's at the department almost every day checking on things and seeing if anyone needs anything.

"It's a second job; you just don't get paid," he said.