KALAMAZOO COUNTY, Michigan — A new statue will honor a Kalamazoo County fire chief killed in the line of duty.
The Comstock Township Fire and Rescue Department and the community will unveil a statue to honor Chief Ed Switalksi.
Current Chief Matt Beauchamp says he was Switalski’s secondhand man for many years.
"Through a lot of projects, emergency scenes, you know, community events, we knew each other's family. So it was, you know, really knew each other very well," said Beauchamp.
He says Switalksi was the type of chief that brought positive energy wherever he went.
"The firehouse isn't the same without Ed. He definitely brought a different level of joy and excitement, and he could get people to stand behind him," he said.
But his positive outreach came to a halt when he was hit and killed in the line of duty in June of 2017 while assisting a crash.
His death marks the first and only death in the line of duty for the department in 100 years.
"We spoke briefly about the day's events and what kind of plan was for the next day. And he said, 'Okay, I'm gonna clear the scene.' And it's just a few moments later that you could hear the tires screech and the impact on the [median], then [that same car] ultimately hit him in his vehicle. So things changed in a hurry,” said Beauchamp.
But instead of focusing on this tragedy, the department and community came together to fundraise, plan and work local sculptor Josh Dietrich to create this statue.
"We were looking for something in the likeliness of the chief. However, he has knocked it out of the park. He's a very talented person, and what we think we got is a statue that looks a lot like or like the fire chief."
Beauchamp says it was important to get the statue done this year because of the plans Switalski had plans this year.
"He was really looking forward to this event. You know, even back when he was a fire chief from before 2017 and he kind of penciled in that he was going to retire this year, so he was going to have the 100-year anniversary celebration, and then he was tentatively going to retire,” said Beauchamp.
The 100 Years of Service ceremony will start at 9 a.m. at Station 9-1 at 1960 River Street in Kalamazoo. Then at 11:30, officials will unveil the statue and honor Switalksi at the Comstock Firefighters Memorial at 819 Comstock Avenue in Kalamazoo.