Sugar Creek Township Fire Department has a new fire marshal. Lt. Will Friedericks has been appointed to take over for Division Chief Randy Brandlein. Monday, Feb. 14, 2022.
Tom Russo | Daily Reporter
HANCOCK COUNTY — Standing around the fire station with some of his fellow firefighters, Lt. Will Friedericks chuckled when some of the guys called him a “paper nerd” after he explained how he liked looking at blueprints of buildings to make sure structures are safe.
“We need guys like Will—a real brainiac—who understands that kind of stuff,” one of the firefighters jokingly said.
The camaraderie with his crew is one of many things Friedericks is going to miss as he takes a step forward this week and becomes part of the Sugar Creek Township Fire Department administration. Friedericks, a longtime SCTFD firefighter, is starting a new phase in his career as the department’s new fire marshal.
After 14 years with the township where he spent the past several years preparing and training for the position under recently retired division chief Randy Brandlein, Friedericks is ready to fill Brandlein’s shoes.
“I’m really looking forward to it,” Friedericks said. “I think it’s going to be a great experience.”
Chief Brandon Kleine thinks Friedericks will do a fantastic job in his new role and said he’s the perfect person for the position.
“He’s wise for his age and is eager to do the job, and he has the respect of all the guys on the floor which is huge,” Kleine said.
Friedericks started with the department as a career firefighter and tried to learn as much as he could about buildings, engineering and firefighting from Brandlein and the other firefighters he’s worked with. While Friedericks enjoyed the firefighting aspect of the job, he’ll now work in the fire prevention section of the department.
“I got all the different certifications and have been going to all the inspections and learning everything I could from Randy for some time,” Friedericks said.
Before being hired by the fire department all those years ago, Friedericks worked in construction—building hotels, dealing with blue prints and the safety aspects of construction, all things he’ll do as the new fire prevention expert replacing Brandlein. As for Brandlein, he said while he’s enjoyed his career with the township, it was time to let someone younger takeover.
“When I first got hired all those years ago, I thought I’d probably work 20 years,” Brandlein said. “At the time it seemed like that would be forever, but here we are almost 30 years later.”
Brandlein, 64, Greenwood, had been in the fire fighting profession since he was 16 taking part in a youth program in Indianapolis. He put in 28 years with SCTFD before retiring recently and had nothing but kind words to say about his replacement.
“I think Will is going to do a great job,” Brandlein said. “He’s got that construction background and after working with him I found that he and I are a lot alike, the way we approach work and do things.”
Brandlein, who like Friedericks worked his way up through the department after decades of dedicated service, said the job of fire prevention is a tough one, but an important one as the community continues to expand with all kinds of businesses and residential developments.
“We all knew Hancock County was going to be a fast-growing community, but I read something last week that said we were one of the fastest growing areas in the state,” Brandlein said. “We had over 2,000 runs in our department last year.”
Brandlein said he will probably do some odd jobs around the home and just relax, or maybe get a part-time job where he can put things together. Right before he left the SCTFD, Brandlein noted that he looked over plans for at least five more subdivisions in the area, so he knows Friedericks will be busy inspecting and making sure buildings are up to code.
Kleine said that while it’s hard to watch guys like Brandlein who have so much experience retire, it’s also exciting to watch new guys like Friedericks step up to the task.
Another retirement of note in the county comes from the Vernon Township Fire Department where Division Chief Les McConnell, who was instrumental in the formation of VTFD, retired after decades of service to the community. McConnell served as a volunteer for 50 years with various departments in Indiana and in the United States. He also retired as a Department of Defense Firefighter.
