A busy month of April for Unity Fire and Rescue began right on the first day of the calendar. Longtime Unity Fire member Dwaine Kopp announced his retirement from the fire department as a whole, and Colby Klein took over the role as Fire Chief.

Officially starting the new post on April 1, Chief Klein and his team have had a busy month of action. A fire ban has been active for Unity and area for the majority of April, and Klein accredited most of the current fire risk to dry shrubbery around the area, hoping that the situation improves quickly once things really begin to green up.

Entering the role of chief has been a bit of a whirlwind for Klein, as he talked about making the decision after some serious thought. 

"I was contacted a month, month-and-a-half prior that he was going to retire. They kind of put the ball in my court, just to see if I would accept it. I gave it some thought, and I was definitely up to the challenge." said the experienced firefighter entering a new role.

All you can ask for is a smooth transition, and even though it's been extra busy, Klein says the shift to Chief has been easier than expected.

"The transition has been really good. Throughout the years I have had a lot of guidance from all these other executives, that it has actually made the transmission really easy."

According to Unity Fire & Rescue on Facebook, the volunteer department has responded to just under ten calls so far in April.