With the impending retirement of Manitowoc Fire Chief Todd Blaser just around the corner, the man taking over the role is voicing his excitement.
Benjamin Kraynek was tasked with serving as the city’s next fire chief after Chief Blaser’s last day on May 26th.
Kraynek made an appearance last week on WOMT’s Be My Guest program, where he explained that being a firefighter was his goal from a very young age.
“I graduated from Lincoln High School in ‘97 and then went to school right out of high school for this profession,” he explained. “I started in April of 2000, so this April, it was 26 years with the Manitowoc Fire Department.”
He admitted that “Fire Chief” was never on his vision board.
He just put his head down and did his job with determination.
“How I approached my job was I always wanted to be the go-to guy or the best at the position I was at,” he noted. “I think that helped train and get me ready, always, for that next step.”
This approach allowed Kraynek to rise through the ranks and eventually be selected to run the entire department.
One of the challenges he will be facing could also be seen as a strength for the department.
They are a relatively young group.
He estimated that two-thirds of the firefighters are between 20 and 30 years old, with over half of them under 25
While this means the department is lacking in experience to a certain degree, Chief Kraynek called it “exciting because we have these young kids coming in and they are pretty excited to learn.”
He called the latest recruitment classes “go-getters,” with five more firefighters beginning their careers today (May 4th).
Kraynek’s first official day as Fire Chief will be May 30th.
