Retiring Canton Firefighters Racked Up 290 Year of Service

The Canton Fire Department has lost 11 of its command officers to retirement over the past month.

The officers, which include seven captains, three battalion chiefs and the deputy fire chief, have a combined 290 years of service to the department. 

The Fire Department retirees include:

• Deputy Fire Chief Gregory Sprys-Tellner, 25 years of service
• Battalion Chief Kenneth Arble, 37 years of service
• Battalion Chief Michael Caruso, 25 years of service
• Battalion Chief Robert Glenn, 28 years of service
• Capt. John Bartle, 25 years of service
• Capt. Ronald Battani, 25 years of service
• Capt. Stephen Gaggi, 25 years of service
• Capt. Gregory Kowalski, 25 years of service
• Capt. Thomas Kruger, 25 years of service
• Capt. Thomas Lutkenhoff, 25 years of service
• Capt. Craig Poike, 25 years of service

All of the retirees held specialized certifications and licensing, including leadership training. In addition, all of them, with the exception of Arble and Battani, were licensed paramedics participating in the fire department's transition from Basic to Advanced Life Support in 1999. 

“These command officers have influenced change and provided leadership to our continually evolving, top-notch fire department," Canton Fire Chief Josh Meier said in a press release. "Each of them exhibited attributes that made the individually successful, while maintaining a common goal of providing the highest level of quality service to the Canton community.”

“While our department will feel a void from their departure, qualified firefighters have been promoted to fill the command position vacancies, and we are in the process of filling firefighter positions with candidates that have successfully completed our highly competitive testing process,” Meier added.