Randy Wichlacz was a hero to the people of Pulaski.
The longtime firefighter put everything into his job at the Pulaski Tri-County Fire Department, where he became chief in 2008 after his father – the department’s former leader – died in an accident at the station. He loved to help people, said his daughter, Kimberly McGrath.
As a child, McGrath spent time with her father on fire calls, and she remembers the sound of his boots bounding down the stairs at night after the scanner went off. When he wasn’t working, Wichlacz operated his own construction business and loved to go for drives and attend Pulaski Polka Days.
“The man was on the move all the time," McGrath said. "He went home for naps, and then he was back at it all over again.”