Outgoing Pella Fire Chief Doug Van Gorkom will be recognized for his nearly five-decades of service to the Pella Fire Department and 17 years as its leader at tonight’s Pella City Council meeting.

Van Gorkom was appointed as chief in December 2004, and ended his time in that role at the end of 2021; he still remains with the department in limited capacity, and is assisting with the purchase of two trucks — one for the City service, and one for Pella Rural, before he leaves.

Van Gorkom says he’s thankful to have someone like Randy Bogaard inherit the new role, and that the new chief was welcomed as he and his predecessor both were, with a major fire. The first major event of Chief Bogaard’s tenure was the January 15th blaze that destroyed most of the 800 block of Washington Street and damaged several nearby buildings just off the downtown square.

Doug will be honored at this evening’s Pella City Council meeting, which begins at 6 p.m. in the Pella Public Safety Complex.