Morton Grove fire Chief Ralph Ensign is set to retire at the beginning of the new year, a departure that will cap off his nearly 50 years of experience as a firefighter and fire services leader.
A special recognition of the fire chief’s retirement was given at the Dec. 10 Village Board meeting.
“Forty-eight years of public service is a very long time,” Village President Dan DiMaria said at the meeting about Ensig. “We’ve been fortunate to have the chief with us since 2021.”
According to information provided by the village, Ensign has been with the Morton Grove department three years. He had retired in 2019 from the Glenview department, but village officials in Morton Grove called him out of that retirement to take the leadership reins there.
Ensign was brought on after a wide recruitment process, which included the village receiving 22 applicants for the chief position, according to former Village Administrator Ralph Czerwinski.
Ensign said in his remarks at the board meeting that he was enthusiastic about the option to head the Morton Grove department.
“I knew a lot about this department before I came here,” he said. “When the opportunity came about, I jumped on it because I wanted to come work with Morton Grove.”
In his time with the north suburban town, he has worked to develop the citizens fire academy and the fire department’s open house, according to information from the village. He has also overseen the purchase of two new fire engines, one new ambulance and a $95,000 renovation of Fire Station No. 5 at 8954 Shermer Road.
Additionally, Ensign is also a technical advisor with the Center for Public Safety Excellence, a nonprofit organization that helps fire departments develop education programs. Ensign just celebrated five years of service there in October, officials pointed out.
Ensign has also previously worked for the Winnetka, Northfield and Highland Park and fire departments.
In his comments at the board meeting, Ensign shared an anecdote from the recent retirement party of police Chief Mike Simo about how supportive he found the board members of Morton Grove to be.
“Every meeting, somebody comes to the back of the room and says hello and talks,” he said before turning away from the microphone to address DiMaria directly. “Mayor, it’s wonderful, you don’t see that in any other community that I’ve worked in or that I know about.”
Firefighter Erik Miller shared a statement from the firefighter’s association expressing appreciation for the chief’s contributions.
“The village and fire department are better because of your stewardship and leadership,” Miller said.
Ensign acknowledged his wife of 44 years, Diane, who was in attendance at the meeting.
“She’s had to put up with this nonsense since 1976,” he said.
As of presstime, a replacement fire chief has not been named. The village’s “employment opportunities” web page includes a listing for “Fire Chief” that specifies “for internal candidates only.”
Alan Kozeluh is a freelancer.
