Firefighter's Job Still Up in the Air With District

The fate of a Frankfort firefighter who faces losing his job stemming from too many traffic violations is still uncertain.

Paul Kelch's driver's license was set to be suspended for six months starting Jan. 29 he had three moving violations in a single year, the latest being an incident in September in New Lenox Township where he was found guilty for leaving the scene of an accident, according to Will County Circuit Court records.

Firefighters must have a valid driver's license if they're to be employed by the , said Tom Gilbert, the district's lawyer. As of early last week, no action had been taken to remove Kelch, who still was employed. However, Kelch was no longer a battalion chief with the district, Gilbert said. The lawyer would not confirm if Kelch's demotion to firefighter was connected to the September incident.

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Last week, Kelch, 36, of Joliet, appeared in Will County Circuit Court without his attorney in order to finalize paying his fines for being found guilty for leaving the scene of an accident in September. But the judge told Kelch he still owed $250 and needed to take a one-night victim impact class at Silver Cross Hospital. The judge also scheduled a status restitution hearing for March 6.

Kelch refused to comment after his hearing and referred all questions to his lawyer, Ted Hammel, who also would not comment on the case.

This is the second accident in which Kelch has been found guilty of leaving the scene, court records state. He was convicted on that charge in an incident in Manhattan in 2010. In that accident, Kelch also was charged with driving under the influence but was found not guilty.

If Kelch's license is suspended and the district needs to remove him, there is a series of steps officials must, by law, go through before an employee can be removed, Gilbert said. The process would be bypassed if Kelch resigned, he added.