Kankakee, IL – Captain Eric Boness has been appointed as the Kankakee Fire Department’s Deputy Fire Chief effective February 1, 2020. Boness has served in the department for 29 years as Shift Commander, Company Officer, Training Officer, and EMS Coordinator. In 1999, Boness was promoted to Lieutenant and to captain in 2005.
“I am very honored and humbled to be nominated to Deputy Fire Chief. I am a resident of Kankakee with my wife Linda and proud to serve our community. I look forward to helping Chief Schuldt lead the finest group of men and women in the fire service; and taking the organization to the next level of greatness,” said Deputy Fire Chief Eric Boness.
“We are very proud to promote Mr. Boness. He brings a wide variety of experiences and abilities to the table,” said Fire Chief Damon Schuldt.
Boness holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Fire Service Management from Southern Illinois University and is a certified Fire Department Health and Safety Officer, as well as, a licensed paramedic. Boness is the former director of the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) 7 Haz Mat team, has taught incident command classes and is currently working to help make the department’s transition to new radio communications equipment.
“I would like to congratulate Eric Boness on his promotion to Deputy Chief. For nearly three decades, he has served our fire department and community. His vision to help implement change and drive our City to be better every day is highly appreciated,” said Mayor Wells-Armstrong.
Boness said while he puts his heart and soul into the Kankakee Fire Department, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Boness’ dad was a fire chief.
