fairlawn: Fire Chief Glenn Goodrich’s official last day as chief is today after nearly 35 years with the safety forces.His retirement will be short as he will start a part-time job with the city as special projects director.A teary-eyed Goodrich said “it’s time to pass it on,” but said he loved the job and will “miss the people most of all.” He was the second person hired by the city when the Fairlawn Fire Department was formed in 1981. He was appointed assistant fire chief in 1984 and has been chief since 2000.Prior to that he worked for Bath Township, starting out as a cadet dispatcher in 1975 before he joined the Bath Fire Department in 1977.Goodrich, 56, who enrolled in the DROP (Deferred Retirement Option Plan) program eight years ago, will start his new job with the city in December. Under the DROP program, workers in the safety forces have to remain on the job for at least three years but no more than eight to receive their pension benefits.The City Council approved the appointment on Monday.Mayor Bill Roth said the position is an “at-will unclassified position,” which means either party can terminate the employment at any time.Roth said Goodrich will be on board primarily to help with the new 800-megahertz radio system for police and fire dispatch. The regional project, a partnership between Fairlawn, Norton, Bath and Copley townships and the Summit County-Akron Radio System, is an upgrade in the existing radio tower in Fairlawn to expand coverage.He will be paid $40,000.Fire Capt. Russ Hose will serve as the interim fire chief. Hose, 55, joined the department in 1982. He was part of the second group of firefighters hired in the department bringing the department up to five.“Back then three firefighters were put on different shifts around the clock and we had one person who manned the station 24 hours a day. They were like the Lone Rangers back then,” said Goodrich. “We also had volunteer firefighters.” Now the department has 13 full-time and 28 part-time firefighters and a combination of full time and part-timers who staff the station 24 hours a day.Hose is a second-generation firefighter. His father, Lt. Glenn “Bud” Hose was an Akron firefighter for 30 years.He said with a family name like Hose he was destined to be a firefighter. He said he’s used to ribbing about his name. His wife’s maiden name was Fawcett.Mayor Roth said Hose will remain a captain in title, but will have all the duties and rank of a fire chief while the city conducts a search for a new chief. “We are looking inside and outside the department. We will advertise mostly statewide,” Roth said. “I’m going to set up a search committee so the process will probably take up to nine months, maybe longer. That also gives Russ some time to decide if he likes the job as chief.”He said the captain’s spot will have to be posted right away because the department is already down one captain, since Capt. Jack North retired unexpectedly to take care of his family in Florida.“I never in my wildest dreams even thought about being the fire chief,” Hose said. “I have to let it all soak in first.”Marilyn Miller can be reached at 330-996-3098 or mmiller@thebeaconjournal.com.