Fire Department
Early fire protection was provided by volunteers and agreements with the City of Cleveland. Sheet metal sheds on East 71st and East 49th street housed hand-hose carts that were hauled to the fire scenes by volunteer residents. Cleveland firemen were called for major fires. The full-time fire service was started here in 1924 with a force of four men. Equipment was stored in the garage at the Brodhead-Garrett Co. until the first firehouse was built on Grant Avenue. Jacob and Mary Gallitz owned and lived on the property where the first fire station was built. Jacob Gallitz sold the property to the Village of Cuyahoga Heights on September 17, 1924. The village then used the house for a residence for the fire chief and either used the barn or built a garage to house the equipment. The fire station was located where the Northbound on-ramp of I-77 is today. James Masek had a picture of four firemen standing in front of the first fire station in the 1976 history that he wrote. The Historical Committee has the brass print block of that picture in its possession. The committee could not find anyone that would or could print a picture from the brass block.
Bob Mantell shared that when the Willow Freeway was going to be built, the deal was that the State would build the Village a new fire station, since the old one was in the path of the freeway, but he’s not sure if that is factual or a myth. Once the new fire station was built, the Gallitz house was then sold and moved to 4615 E. 49th (over the open fields), and it became the O'Malley's house. When the Willow Freeway construction was started, a combination police-fire station was built at the present site, with R.C. Carbone Co. awarded the contract on 3/1/1942. George Fox was the architect. A March 19, 1942 Cleveland Plain Dealer article mentions Cuyahoga Heights getting a new fire station, and also that the old fire station was being torn down to make way for the Willow Freeway. The stakes for the new fire station were laid on March 18, 1942. The Plain Dealer also reported on July 24, 1942, that Cuyahoga Heights Fire Station was a new reporting center for the Office of Civil Defense. This new fire station may have been an air raid shelter, because when the men were cleaning out the attic, they gave the Historical Committee an Air Raid Shelter sign and 2 hats/helmets, plus some pieces of paper with Air Raid rules. It is possible that the fire house shelter may have just been for the police and firemen or E. 49th Street residents. In 1960, the village built a new police station at the present site to house the jail and radio communications center.
The fire department was one of the first to institute emergency ambulance service to the area in the 1930s. Jake Gallitz, Frank Kreiger and Ernie Knaack were among the first to serve on the fire force. The early department was directed by Thomas J. Gough, Frank Gaul, Marshall Del Davis, and Bernard Scott at the first fire station. After the second fire house was built on the south side of Grant Ave., William Saunders took over the department as chief. Walter Kaczmarek, who was a member of the fire force from 1930-1968, became the first local resident to become chief. He served as Chief from 1944-1964. Walter was also the area’s Civil Defense Warden and trained area fire departments how to fight fires from bombs being dropped on factories. The Town Hall and parts of the Cuyahoga Heights School were bomb shelters. There was also a small garage-like building near Michelle Mack’s home, and behind the Village hall, that was used to store air raid supplies. The Civil Defense group also met and stored emergency response equipment (Army Ducks) in a location where Southerly Wastewater Treatment Plant is located today. Robert Mantell’s father, Joseph E. Mantell, drove the Army Ducks. On a side note, the tunnels under the school and Southerly Wastewater Treatment Plant would have made excellent air raid shelters.
Among the major fires fought by the local department were the Dwight-Hinckley Lumber blaze and the dairy barn fire on the Joseph Schmit farm.
LIST OF FIRE CHIEFS:
Thomas J. Gough 1924-1928
Delbert L. Davis 1929-1931
Bernard Scott 1932-1943
William J. Saunders 1944-1964
Wladislaus J. Kaczmarek 1964-1968
Paul Kornowski 1968-1970
Raymond Wojciechowski 1970-1978
Lester G. Davis 1978-1984
James G. Bloam 1984-1985
Kenneth W. Nichols 1985-1996
James J. Mantell 1996-2003
Lee E. Zmija 2003-2010
Neil Cash 2010-2015
Michael Suhy 2015-present
BIOGRAPHIES
Thomas J. Gough was born April 27, 1864 in Pennsylvania to Thomas & Mary Mapleton Gough. His parents were both from Ireland. Thomas was Fire Chief in Conneaut, Ashtabula Co., OH from 1900 until sometime in 1924. He was the first Fire Chief of Cuyahoga Heights village from before Dec. 1924 to Jan. 1928. Thomas never married & died Apr. 29, 1930 in Cleveland, OH
Delbert Leroy Davis was born Nov. 15, 1883 in Delaware Co., Ohio to Joseph C. & Catherine A. Mervine Davis. His sibling are Rose, Christopher Manlen, & Joseph Ernest. Joseph was a village fireman in the 1930’s. Delbert worked on farms in Scioto & Delaware Townships & married Della before coming to Newburgh Heights. Delbert & Della raised their four children; Goldie, Donald, Lester & Florence on E. 71st & Marcelline Court. He was elected Marshal for Cuyahoga Heights when the village was formed in 1918 & retired in 1931. He was the only village Marshal. The Mayor & Council picked the Police Chiefs after Delbert. He was also the Fire Chief from Jan. 1, 1929 until he retired from the village on Feb. 24, 1931. Records show him as the village custodian in 1924. During the 1940s Delbert worked for the Southerly Sewage Plant. Delbert died May 31, 1966 in Geneva, Ashtabula Co., Ohio.
Bernard Scott was our Chief from 1931 to 1940. A village ordinance was passed to eliminate the Fire Chief’s job in 1940. A 1942 court case reinstated Chief Scott with back pay. The court ruled that a State Law said you had to have a fire chief. He retired in 1943.
William J. Saunders
William was born Dec. 4, 1890 in Cleveland, Ohio to Charles & Ida Saunders. His parents & three of his grandparents were also born in Ohio. His grandfather on his father’s side was born in Scotland. William’s eight known siblings are Mable, John, Helen Brugge, Edwin, Flora Walters, Edna Presterl, Marguerite Restanis & Dorothy Metzger. He married Marguerite, daughter of Patrick & Nellie Marion of Cleveland. William & Marguerite had two children, Kenneth & Ruth O’Grady. He & Marguerite had seven grandchildren & six great grandchildren at the time of his death. William liked to Fish & play handball. As a young adult he was a Golden Gloves Boxer & a well known baseball player. He became a Cleveland Fire Fighter in 1916 & was stationed most of the time at 37th St. & Central Ave. Being the sports enthusiast that he was, he founded the annual Police & Firemen’s Athletic Field Day. William co-founded the Police & Firemen’s Holy Name Society in 1930. He became the Cuyahoga Heights Fire Chief in 1944 & retired in 1964. William died Jul. 26, 1970 in Parma Heights. Monsignor Kenneth Saunders offered Mass of the Resurrection for his father at St. Bartholomew Church.
Wladislaus Walter Joseph Kaczmarek
Walter was born Sept. 20, 1906 in Cleveland, Ohio to Martin Joseph & Michalina Lewandowski Kaczmarek. His parents & two older siblings were born in Poland. They came to America in 1900. His siblings are Stanislav-Stanley, Pelagia-Pauline, Edward & Bernard. The family moved to Cuyahoga Heights in the early 1920s. He attended South High School. Walter worked on farms in Brooklyn Heights & joined a traveling carnival in his youth. Walter married Wladyslawa-Charlotte ”Lottie”, born Feb. 21, 1910, daughter of Stanley & Nathli Borkowski, on Aug. 4, 1931 in Saints Peter & Paul Church in Garfield Heights, OH. They had two daughters, Phyllis [Andrew] Baumgardner & Mary Lou [Alan] Kalish. They lived all of their married life in the village & many years on Bletch Court. Walter & Lottie were married over 71 years before his death Oct. 17, 2002 & her death Nov. 22, 2002. When the Cuyahoga Heights Village Fire Department was started in the late 1920s, he was one of our first firemen. During WW II his duties included being a Civil Defense Warden. He trained workers in firefighting techniques at the large plants in the area. During this time workers were expected to fight fires if their plants were bombed. He helped with training at the Newburgh Heights Fire Department in 1942. Walter was ahead of the times, encouraging his men to stay physically fit & mentally alert. He was a member of our Fire Department for 38 years & was Chief from 1964 - 1968.Walter was an active member of the Ohio Firefighters Association & the Cleveland & Ohio Fire Chief’s Association. During the early 1950’s Walter & Ed Koran started a building & remodeling business. They built many homes in & around Cuyahoga Heights. Walter was a member of the village Men’s Club, Senior Citizens & AARP of Garfield Heights.
Paul Kornowski was born May 3, 1906 in Cleveland, Ohio to Paul & Martha Schroder Kornowski. His parents both came from Poland, Paul in 1884 & Martha in 1890. Paul’s sibling are Mae Swencky, Anne Marek, Florian, Edward & Clara Klima. He attended Harvard School & South High School. Paul shortened his last name to Koran sometime before he married. While caring for Albert Bletch’s horses on the Bletch farm, that covered most of the land now Bletch & Marcelline Courts, he met his future bride, Mrs Bletch’s housekeeper. He married Ann Elizabeth & they had two children, a son who died very young & Carol Gillett. Paul was one of the first firemen to be on the Cuyahoga Heights Village Fire Department. He joined the department in 1928 along with Frank Kreiger, Jacob Gallitz & Walter Caddy. During the early 1950s, Paul went to many conventions to help set up the Firefighter’s Pension & Retirement Funds. He was chief from 1968 to 1970. He built the garage, then the house on land he & Ann bought from Mr. & Mrs. Bletch on Marcelline Court. He loved working outdoors. Paul died Feb 15, 1977 at his home in Cuyahoga Heights.
Raymond Wojciechowski
Ray was born in 1915 to Jacob & Clara Sryzmanski Wojciechowski. They were both born in Poland, Jacob in 1871 & Clara in 1875. He has eleven siblings, John, Mary, Walter, Bernard, Vincent, Florence, Michael, Al, Loretta, Albert & Benjamin. He shortened his last name to Wasky. Ray joined the Cuyahoga Heights Fire Department in 1940 & was Chief from 1970 to 1978.
Lester G. Davis was born Sept. 12, 1923 in Cuyahoga Heights to Delbert Leroy & Della L. Davis. He has three siblings, Goldie, Donald & Florence. Lester played on the school basketball team during the 1939-40 season. He was a member of the 1st class to graduate from Cuyahoga Heights High School. Lester enlisted in the Army during WW II on Mar. 16, 1945. He married Lois & they had two children Mark & Lisa. Following his father & uncle Joseph, Lester joined the Cuyahoga Heights Fire Department in 1946 & was Fire Chief from 1978 to 1984. Lester died Sept. 23, 2007 at his home in Cuyahoga Heights.
James George Bloam was born June 20, 1923 in Pennsylvania. He is the son of John Clarence & Margaret Haynes Bloam. James has three sisters, Marie Leslie, Louella Ryan & Patti Ezzo. Jim played football, basketball & baseball. While he was playing football he gave the whole Strongsville team impetigo. He graduated from Cuyahoga Heights High School in 1942. He had just started college when the U.S. entered WW II. On Dec. 28, 1942 he enlisted & served in the Army Air Corp., 509th Composite Group, 309th Ordinance Wing. While he was in the service he was one of the people who worked on the atomic bomb. Jim married Mary Jean & they had two children, Diane Marie “Pixie” & James John. Jim joined the Cuyahoga Heights Fire Department in 1954 & was Fire Chief from July, 1984 to January, 1985. He died Jan. 16, 2000 at his home in Cuyahoga Heights.
Kenneth W. Nichols was born Jul. 19, 1937 in Bedford, Ohio to Paul E. & Florence Nichols. He has two siblings, Norman & Geraldine Schuman. He graduated from Cuyahoga Heights High School in 1955. On May 18, 1957 Ken married Barbara Ann, daughter of Andrew & Sophie Baracz. She was born Apr. 10, 1937. Ken & Barb have two children, Timothy & Kathleen. Before becoming a fireman he worked as a printer for the Federal Reserve Bank. He joined the Cuyahoga Heights Fire Department Feb. 28, 1964 & was the first fireman to learn CPR. After learning CPR in a class Harris-Seybold offered to their employees he taught it to the Cuyahoga Hts., Brooklyn Hts.,Valley View, & Newburgh Hts., firemen. Ken was Chief from Jan. 1985 to Sept. 4, 1996. As chief he pushed for funding of four hazardous-materials teams in Cuyahoga County & in establishing the county’s local Emergency Planning Committee. About 30% of his department were young men from the Cuyahoga Hts. Boy Scout troop where he had been Scoutmaster. Ken is a member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs. He was 2nd V.P. in 1992; 1st V.P. in 1993 & President in 1994 of the Great Lakes Region.
James Joseph Mantell was born Jul. 18, 1952 to Joseph & Alvena Mantell. Jim has a twin brother, Robert. He graduated from Cuyahoga Heights High School in 1970. Jim is married to Jeanette. He joined the Fire Department in 1976, serving as Chief from 1996-2003. He enjoys playing golf.
Lee E. Zmija
Lee was born May 21, 1951 to Steve & Marion Zmija. His siblings are Ralph & Dale. He played basketball in high school. Lee graduated from Cuyahoga Heights High School in 1969. He also studied at Tri-C for 2 years. He is married to Cathy J. & they have three children, Krystal, Clint & Brandy. The Zmija family had one of the largest Christmas displays in the Cleveland area for 24 years. He became Fire Chief of the Cuyahoga Heights Fire Department on Apr. 1, 2003
Neal Cash was born in 1951 to Howard and Lena Cash. He married Barb Glass, and they have three children: Jason, Andy, and Becky. Neal was Fire Chief for Cuyahoga Heights from 2010-2015.
Michael Suhy was born 1973 to George and Dianne Suhy. He married Michelle Johnston and had two children: Allison and Jenna. He became Cuyahoga Heights Fire Chief in 2015 and is the current chief.