Crown Point officially has a new fire chief. Mark Baumgardner Jr. was sworn in during Wednesday's board of works meeting, after the appointment was first announced during Friday's Crown Point Fire Rescue Awards Banquet.
He said he looks forward to being able to grow the department together. "It's an honor to be able to serve a great department and for a great city, so I look forward to the challenges that are going to be faced ahead," he told the board of works Wednesday.
He replaces David Crane, who passed away in April. In a press release, Mayor David Uran says Baumgardner has been leading the department since Crane began having health issues about a year ago. Baumgardner joined as a volunteer firefighter in 2002, was hired full-time in 2008, and was named assistant fire chief in 2019.