HR0619 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0619 LRB098 14369 MST 49163 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to congratulate the Mount Prospect Fire Department on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of its founding; and

WHEREAS, The Mount Prospect Fire Department was formed by community leaders at a meeting at the Central School on September 29, 1913, when the Village had a population of only 300, and the Department's small number of volunteers performed their duties with only ladders, buckets, and a hand pump; and

WHEREAS, Early in the Department's history, various pieces of equipment were purchased, including the first vehicle, a Buick Chassis truck, and the first fire engine, an American LaFrance referred to as "Ol' Betsy"; and

WHEREAS, The Village of Mount Prospect approved pay for firefighters and in the mid-1940s constructed the first permanent building for the Fire Department at a cost of $112,600; and

WHEREAS, The Mount Prospect Fire Department expanded in the 1960s and 1970s, hiring its first 2 full-time firefighters, building a second fire station, purchasing its first ambulance, and acquiring a Dalmatian mascot named Smokey; and

WHEREAS, In 1970, the Mount Prospect Fire Department became a founding member of the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS), an agreement for resource-sharing and cooperation among departments in responding to emergencies; and

WHEREAS, In a demonstration of planning for the future, the Department established a partnership with Northwest Community Hospital in 1972 to create one of the first paramedic programs in the country, and then later teamed up with Arlington Heights and Elk Grove Village to establish the first centralized emergency dispatch center in the Chicagoland area; and

WHEREAS, The Mount Prospect Fire Department joined with the fire departments of Arlington Heights, Elk Grove Village, and Des Plaines to form a 4-town Hazardous Materials Team; and

WHEREAS, Firefighters from the Mount Prospect Fire Department were among the volunteers who traveled to Louisiana to assist in the recovery from Hurricane Katrina; and

WHEREAS, The Mount Prospect Fire Department is tasked with the responsibility of overseeing emergency management for the entire Village; and

WHEREAS, The Mount Prospect Fire Department has grown along with the Village's needs and now has 3 stations, 4 engines, 3 ambulances, and 88 personnel to respond to the nearly 6,000 calls it receives each year; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we honor the Mount Prospect Fire Department on the occasion of its 100th anniversary and recognize its outstanding record of service to Village residents during those 100 years; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the Mount Prospect Village Board and the Mount Prospect Fire Department as a symbol of our esteem and respect.