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WHEREAS, Wendell Hissrich was born and raised in the Eastern Suburbs and graduated from Duquesne University. He is a lifetime member of the Forest Hills Volunteer Fire Department and served as a charter member of the Allegheny County Hazardous Material Team. In 1985, he became a Paramedic/Crew Chief with the City of Pittsburgh's Bureau of EMS; and,
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WHEREAS, in 1990, Mr. Hissrich began his career as a Special Agent with the FBI. During his tenure, he worked on numerous investigations including commercial airliner crashes, the Oklahoma City bombing, the September 11 attacks and anthrax attacks. He also assisted in the coordination of security for Pope Francis's visit to Philadelphia, the Pittsburgh All-Star Game and the G-20 Summit held in Pittsburgh. He ended his career as Chief of the Weapons of Mass Destruction Operations Unit at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C.; and,
WHEREAS, in 2016, after a 25-year career as an FBI agent, Mr. Hissrich became the Public Safety Director with the City of Pittsburgh, committed to improving morale among the first responders. During his tenure, he implemented new Public Safety Policies, was instrumental in returning a fireboat to the City of Pittsburgh, brought back the Police Mounted Unit, and placed station alerting within Fire and EMS stations throughout the city; and,
WHEREAS, he was also instrumental in providing Active Shooter training, which may have saved many lives during the 2018 Tree of Life massacre. At the onset of the COVID 19 Pandemic, he was instrumental in acquiring vaccinations for the first responders when the city struggled to maintain staffing levels. When needed, he was also called upon to be acting Mayor; and,
WHEREAS, his tenure with the City of Pittsburgh ended at the end of Mayor Peduto's term and he is currently the Director of Safety and Security for the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh; and,
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby re...
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