WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — Members of both the Wausau and firefighting community gathered Wednesday evening to celebrate a recent appointment.
Wausau Fire Chief Robert Barteck was appointed to the role on June 8th, 2021 by a unanimous vote of the City’s Police and Fire Commission. He was then honored with an official Swear-In Ceremony on Wednesday, July 7th at the UWSP Wausau Campus Auditorium.
Wausau City Clerk Leslie Kremer swears in new Fire Chief Robert Barteck at his swearing-in ceremony on July 7th, 2021. (MWC photo taken by Liz Holbrook)
The ceremony lasted a little over an hour and included a posting of colors, several speakers, and the pinning of the Cheif’s Badge. Speakers for the evening included former Police & Fire Commission President Michael Loy, Wausau Mayor Katie Rosenberg, and Madison Fire Lieutenant and State President of The Professional Fire Fighters Mahlon Mitchell. Barteck was then sworn in by City Clerk Leslie Kremer and had his Cheif’s Badge pinned by his parents Noel & Elaine Barteck.
Elaine Barteck pins the Fire Chief’s Badge on her son Robert Barteck for his swearing-in ceremony as Wausau’s Fire Chief. (MWC photo by Liz Holbrook)
Following the ceremony, Barteck said the event was an emotional experience. “It was a humbling evening and I’m honored to serve in this capacity as Fire Chief. Now with the ceremony and the pomp and circumstance behind me, I’m really looking forward to just getting back into the office, getting into the fire station and getting to work. We’ve got a lot of work, we’ve got a very busy department. We’ve got a lot of initiatives that we’re driving forward. I’m excited to get at the nuts and bolts of the work.”
New Wausau Fire Chief Robert Barteck hugs his mom, Elaine, after the pinning of his Cheif’s Badge. (MWC photo by Liz Holbrook)
Included in the nuts and bolts of that work according to Barteck is investing in his fire crew. Bright and early at 7:30 on Thursday morning, Barteck says he’s meeting with a group of firefighters finishing their year of probation to discuss leadership in their own careers. Barteck says he hopes to get the best out of his crew by offering instruction, counsel, and support.
When it comes to the community, Barteck says his main message to residents in the Wausau area is, “that the Wausau Fire Department stands ready to meet their needs no matter the call. We are in a forward-leaning posture always looking at new emerging threats to the community, trying to build a resilient community, trying to build a strong response system for calls.
“But also focusing on prevention, from fire prevention through code enforcement, to education in the schools, to just having conversations about joining with another group trying to address falls in the elderly. And what can we do as the Fire Department to leverage that? It sounds crazy but yet that is our role, is number one prevention and then response after that.
“Obviously the bulk of our budget and the bulk of our operations is on the operational side. But it still is the number one goal of every firefighter and paramedic in the Wausau Fire Department is prevention.”
Barteck served as Deputy Chief for 2 years under former Wausau Fire Chief Tracy Kujawa, who retired from the position in April. According to Barteck, the ceremony was for both ceremonial and legal purposes.
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