(BATESVILLE, Ind.) – Batesville Fire Chief Todd Schutte is retiring after serving on the department for more than three decades.
Schutte was a volunteer firefighter for several years before being named Fire Chief in 2001.
Over the past 34 years, he has overseen the transformation of the department from all-volunteer to becoming one of the only paid full-time firefighter/EMS agencies in Ripley and Franklin counties.
Firefighter Ryan Musgrave has served on the department since 2016.
“Todd gave me opportunities that I wouldn’t have gotten elsewhere, and one of my favorite attributes about him is that he held everyone accountable,” Musgrave said.
Musgrave added that Schutte also had a substantial impact on the department by the work he did to upgrade equipment, facilities and trainings.
“I feel that him being part of the organization made me a better fireman, he taught me a lot of things, and I know a lot of the guys say that about him. He was a wonderful chief and what he did for the community by turning this into a combination department was a great thing,” Musgrave said.
Schutte retired in June and longtime Batesville firefighter Brian Hardebeck has assumed the role of chief.
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