Friends, family and fellow firefighters filled Flossmoor Village Hall Monday night to honor Richie Ambuehl, a 43-year fire service veteran.
Ambuehl, who is retiring after decades of service on the Flossmoor Fire Department, was recognized for the many duties he performed — as a firefighter, driver-operator, public educator, telecommunicator and “mentor to all those around him.”
“He is part of this village that will never go away,” said Mayor Paul Braun. “I don’t know how to thank him for his years of service.”
Trustee Phil Minga, a fire department captain, read a village resolution honoring Ambuehl for his service and extending best wishes in the future to the veteran firefighter and his family.
“I’d just like to say thanks to the tons of great guys I’ve known,” Ambruehl said.
Ambuehl — his name is Herman Richard but he is known to all as Ric
hie — started his fire service career in December 1971 as a volunteer with the former SunnyCrest Fire Protection District. The SunnyCrest department merged with its Flossmoor counterpart in 1975 and, since then, Ambuehl has served the village and its residents.
“In doing so, Richie touched the lives of thousands over the years, making everyone’s day better and brighter,” the resolution states.
Ambuehl has managed all aspects of the department’s radio room operations, from completing the log book and necessary paperwork to monitoring computer assisted dispatch during incidents to ensuring final data entry into the department’s Records Management system.
“As our eyes and ears back at the station, Richie provided that extra layer of safety to the men and women out on the call,” the resolution states.
As a Flossmoor firefighter for 39 years, Ambuehl provided “the highest quality assistance” to local residents “during the worst of situations as well as the worst of weather conditions.”
Contact Tom Houlihan at [email protected]