A multi-talented man works for the Portage Fire Department. Chuck Litzkow is a firefighter/EMT, a mechanic, a veteran, a husband, and a father; and he is this week’s Life in the Spotlight.
Litzkow’s spends his days at the Portage Fire Department fixing equipment, the trucks, and other important devices that the department needs to function properly. He also goes out on calls during 24-hour shifts.
“I go over the apparatus, doing daily inspections on them and making sure that everything is working properly,” Litzkow said. “If something isn’t working correctly it could be a big problem in emergency situations so I try to keep maintain our equipment as best as I can.”
“Chuck helped us fix our 1998 ladder truck a few years back. We kept having trouble with tires and other suspension issues,” Dan Kodicek said. “He got in touch with the design manufacturer and was able to get them to give us a new suspension. It’s saved us thousands of dollars each year since. Chuck doesn’t just fix things he finds a way to curb costs and help keep us running well at the fire department.”
Litzkow grew up in Illinois and moved to Northwest Indiana when he was 11-years-old. He went to Portage High School and spent 30 years serving his country in the Army Reserves, completing three tours of Iraq during his time there.
“I joined the military in the early 1980s and worked on the transportation,” Litzkow said. “I did maintenance most of the time on the military vehicles. Semis, jeeps, Humvees, any type of rolling vehicle… I worked on all of these while I was deployed. Those deployments make you really appreciate what you have here.”
Litzkow’s father was a shop teacher, and so working with his hands was a love that came upon Litzkow at a young age.
“I’d watch him work at home on his cars and other things,” Litzkow said. “For my birthday and Christmas I would always ask for Craftsman tools instead of toys.”
Litzkow ended up using tools all throughout his life. As a young child, in the military, and in his career. He worked for the Ogden Dunes Street Department, then the Portage Street Department, and for the last 18 years Litzkow has worked for the Portage Fire Department. On his days off he runs the Ogden Dunes Street Department and in the winter time you will find him in a snowplow, clearing out the snow for the people of Ogden Dunes.
A notable fact about Litzkow is that he was named Firefighter of the Year in 2004 and 2010 by the Portage Fire Department and the American Legion.
“It’s been a good life,” Litzkow said. “I try to stay positive and surround myself with positive people. I am married to a great woman and we have a daughter and a son, and I have my first grandchild. Where did the time go?”
In his free time, Litzkow loves to tinker with his Harley-Davidson motorcycle and he’s also a volunteer firefighter at the Ogden Dunes Fire Department.