OTHELLO — Longtime Adams County Fire District 5 Chief Gary Lebacken has announced his retirement effective May 31. Lebacken will be replaced by ACFD 5 Assistant Chief Tom Salsbury. 

Lebacken has been the ACFD 5 chief since 2008, but he started as a volunteer firefighter in 1982. He became a volunteer captain in 1989, an assistant chief as a volunteer in 1999, and was hired full-time in 2001.  

Salisbury became a firefighter in 1991 and has been the ACFD 5 assistant chief for several years, according to a press release from the district.  

District commissioner Jay Weise said a lot of changes are coming to the district, and commissioners are using the appointment of a new chief to review where the department is now and where it’s going.  

The district has a contract with the city of Othello for fire services, which will expire in spring 2026. 

“We’re starting to put into place how we’re going to do things once the city is no longer a responsibility for us,” Weise said. 

One of Salisbury’s first responsibilities, Weise said, will be to work on that transition. 

“We want him to look at it and give (commissioners) what he would like to see,” Weise said. “We tasked him with that over the next couple months. What does he expect the district to look like as we go through this transition?” 

Weise said fire district commissioners believe that providing firefighting services in a rural area is changing, and the district must change with it. They commissioned a strategic plan to get some ideas on how to make those changes. At the time, the city of Othello was planning to stay in the district, he said, but city officials and Othello City Council members changed their minds.  

“At which time we went back to our consultant, and I said, ‘Take the city of Othello out and take another review of what that looks like for us.’ And they did that. But ultimately, the plan didn’t necessarily change. The needs are still there (but) the partnership has dissolved.” 

While most of the district is either irrigated farmland or wildland, it also includes industrial customers, Weise said.  

“Our original plan was trying to figure out how to continue to provide the service that the city needed as well as the service that a rural fire department needs to do, with some of our industry out at the port district and such as that,” Weise said. “Now it’s pretty much moved us in the direction that we don’t need to worry about providing service to the city at this time. We need to concentrate on what it’s going to take to provide service to the fire district.” 

Taking out the urban firefighting may not make a lot of difference when it comes to cost, he said.  

“That brings up a whole can of worms. That’s a whole different conversation, and we’re still kind of fleshing some of that stuff out,” Weise said. 

During his time with the fire district, Lebacken worked to upgrade firefighting apparatus, equipment and tools, and enhance firefighter safety, as a result, the press release said. He worked on the original agreement between the city and the fire district in 2001.  

“Chief Lebacken has given so much to this department and the community,” Salisbury said. “His impact will be felt for years to come, and we are grateful for his leadership.” 

    Assistant Chief Tom Salisbury, left, will be the new chief of Adams County Fire District 5.