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History
1960
The Romeoville Fire Department was founded in April by a group of volunteers who saw a need to provide fire protection to the rapidly growing community. The first engine of the Romeoville Volunteer Fire Department arrived in August and the station was located in the Village Hall.1975
The Village and Department built a new station, which is now our current Station 1. This station was designed for part-time personnel. With the opening of Station 1, the Village also began to pay personnel to staff the stations on a 24-hour basis. Five personnel were placed on shift.1983
The Department identified the need to provide around the clock Paramedic service, and through the hard work of the members of the Department, they educated citizens of the need to fund this proposition. A referendum to establish an ambulance tax was passed to provide equipment and personnel to protect the Village.1984
The Department fought a catastrophic explosion and fire at the Unoven Refinery that devastated the plant.1986
Fire Station 1 underwent an addition to the west side of the building. This was to house additional equipment and to provide living quarters for on duty personnel, so additional staff personnel could be placed in remodeled living quarters.1990
The Village Board appointed its first full-time Fire Chief to professionalize the Department, and to meet the needs of the rapidly growing community.1991
The Metropolitan Sanitary District closed the 135th Street Bridge due to safety concerns. In doing so, this cut off the east side of the Village from Fire protection. To address these concerns, the Department rented space in a building that housed an ambulance, a Tanker truck, and 2 personnel to provide protection. The personnel were reassigned from Station 1. In June, the Department opened Fire Station 2, located in the Marquette Business Park. A Fire Engine and an Ambulance were placed in service to protect the rapidly growing northern area of the Village.1992
In March, the Department hired 7 personnel full-time to begin the transition of the Department from part-time staffing to full-time. The Department hired four Captains and three Firefighter-Paramedics.1994
The Village passed a referendum to purchase new fire engines, ambulances, turn out gear, SCBA and related equipment to modernize the department.1997
The Village entered into an inter-governmental agreement with the Lockport Township Fire District to provide Fire and ambulance service to areas west of Weber Road in the Village. Our Department would be responsible to respond to these areas also.1999
The Department purchased its 1st aerial truck, a 100-foot tower-ladder and placed it in service in late 1999. The truck provides service to the refinery, Lewis University, and the numerous motels and larger buildings in Romeoville.2001
The department purchased a new ambulance to replace the aging units obtained from the referendum in 1994. The unit was the 1st on the large, commercial chassis designed to better handle payload issues and extend service life from 5 to 7 years.2005
The Village purchased a new fire engine to replace the 1986 unit still in reserve, and a new heavy rescue squad to replace a 1978 unit. The Romeoville Fire Academy (RFA) was established. The academy trains firefighters from Northern Illinois in advanced skill areas such as hazardous materials, technical rescue, water rescue and other specialties. The department became one of only a handful of fire departments in Illinois to deploy the auto pulse device to increase the chance of surviving a cardiac arrest. The auto pulse is a battery operated non-invasive cardiac support pump that moves more blood than manual CPR and has shown to improve survival from cardiac arrest.2006
The department placed into service a 2006 Pierce Enforcer pumper and a 2006 Pierce Enforcer Heavy Rescue Squad. The rescue squad is a multi functional vehicle that was designed to provide emergency lighting at emergency scenes via a telescoping tight pole, fill self contained breathing apparatus through state of the art air cascade system at house fires and assists with a wide variety of specialized equipment at large and unique incidents. The squad also serves as the primary vehicle for the departments Dive and Technical Rescue (TRT) teams. Both vehicles are housed at Station 1.2007
A 2007 Pierce Enforcer Pumper was placed into service. This vehicle is housed at Station 3. A 2007 Ford Expedition command vehicle was also placed into service which is utilized by the departments Battalion Chiefs. The Village purchased land at Normantown and Weber Roads for the construction of Fire Station Number 3. Fire department staff along with Architect Engineers and Village Staff worked on plans for future station 2 as well as a new station 1 that will be constructed at the Village campus on 135th Street. The department also put into service a second auto pulse device and replaced cardiac monitors with state of the art 12 lead cardiac monitors. These new monitors give emergency room doctors the information necessary to make better medical decisions for patients having heart attacks. This technology decreases the time it takes to get a patient to the cath lab and definitive care.2008
The fire department placed in service a 2008 Medtec ambulance. Another project we are proud to announce this year was the opening of Fire Station 3. The fire department participated in a Village wide space needs assessment to plan for the future growth. It was decided at that time, to build two smaller satellite fire stations to decrease emergency response times. Station 3 in particular has brought services to the western part of the Village. This neighborhood station, constructed by Leopardo, was built in partnership with area residents and provides much needed community meeting space to serve the needs of local civic groups. This project was so successful that it was recently recognized by "Fire Chief" magazine in their November issue as a "Notable Satellite" winner in its 2008 Station Style Design Awards.2009
The Romeoville Fire Department has also taken great strides in preparing for current and future needs of the residents. The motto, "Where Community Matters" is taken very seriously by the department. The merit of everything the department undertakes is judged by the benchmark of whether or not it will better serve the community and decrease the loss of life or damage to property. The last several years have provided the department with the opportunity to develop innovative programs, upgrade infrastructure and assets, reorganize personnel, and hire additional members. These measures have enabled the department to be in a better position to meet the ever changing public safety demands of the community.The Village of Romeoville purchased land on 135th Street for the future site of Fire Station 1.
2010
The fire department celebrated their 50th Anniversary with many events scheduled throughout the year. The training facility at Station 2 was expanded with the addition of a burn prop.Fire Prevention moved to a new facility located at the Village Hall.
