Itasca Fire Protection District Annual Report 2024 by Itasca Fire Protection District

Welcome to our 2024 Annual Report. This year proved to be a remarkable and pivotal year for the Itasca Fire Protection District. Our crews have served admirably this year impacting the lives of many individuals.

In March, we received conﬁrmation that our application for a congressional appropriation of $2.5 million dollars, sponsored by Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, was approved. Additionally, in March the Board of Trustees approved the promotion of Battalion Chiefs, Lieutenants and one Captain, who became the Fire Marshal. These promotions provide us with best practice in organizational structure by having a Battalion Chief (incident commander) in the battalion chief car every day

The long-awaited rehab project of Station 66 was approved and the demo started in early summer. Our crews were extremely patient throughout the process living in very tight quarters but ready to respond at a moment's notice The project involved the redesign of the front of the station, replacing flooring in the main portion of the fire station, an update to the front offices, brand new bunk room with individual sleeping rooms, and new bathrooms with ADA compliance

The year also brought the retirement of some long-time employees. We also welcomed some new members who are excited to be part of our team.

The Itasca Fire District was successful in being awarded grants from FEMA Assistance for Fireﬁghter and Fire Prevention & Safety for equipment replacement and training. These grants allowed us to replaced $70,000 of our 30-year-old ﬁre hose, purchase a $25,000 patient simulator mannequin for the training of EMTs and paramedics, $10,000 dollars for active shooter training and supplies, $75,000 for cancer-reducing diesel exhaust removal system to replace our original system and $40,000 for Home Safety Visit supplies and overtime cost associated with the program!

The Home Safety Visits have improved our communities safety by ensuring our residents have working smoke detectors, carbon monoxide and natural gas detectors. Our crews come by and install all of these products at no charge to the resident We extend our sincere thank you to Itasca Bank for the years of generous donations for this program!

Much of the crews time is spent training to prepare for all types of fires. The district had the great fortune to host live fire in a midrise structure at 1200 Arlington Heights Road prior to it’s demolition. The training was conducted by Illinois Fire Safety Institute (IFSI), the state fire training academy. During the two weeks, our crews, along with 800 other firefighters from across northern Illinois had the chance to learn from world leaders from FDNY; Chicago, St. Louis, and Milwaukee in high-rise fire fighting. The training included four pre-planned live fire scenarios per day. You may have seen the smoke or fire if you were traveling on Arlington Heights Road during early December.

We ﬁnished the year strong with the groundbreaking of our new ﬁre station 67, which will be located at 1295 N. Arlington Heights Road, to serve our residents north of the tracks We anticipate completion of the station in December 2025

The District has an extremely bright future and we are excited to continue to improve the services we provide to the residents we serve.

Warmly,

Chief Jack Schneidwind

OurDistrict

Our Mission

Our Vision

The Mission of the Itasca Fire Protection District is to positively impact lives and protect property through emergency response, prevention, and education. Our team of highly trained and dedicated professionals will respond with integrity, competence and compassion. By building our future upon the foundation of our past, we are committed to excellence and professional accountability through operations, training, and innovation. Our team will adapt to the everchanging needs of the community we serve.

Our Core Values

Respect

Teamwork Integrity Pride

Welcome to the Itasca Fire Protection District (District), an ISO Class 2. Itasca is approximately 23-miles northwest of downtown Chicago and the District covers 6 5 miles and includes portion of Itasca, Addison and Wood Dale as well as surrounding unincorporated areas of DuPage County. Our District provides mutual and automatic aid to a combined population of 269,970 in Addison, Bensenville, Bloomingdale, Elk Grove Village, Roselle, Wood Dale, Elmhurst, Oakbrook Terrace, Schaumburg, and York Center 5

It’s All About Team!

Thank you to the Board of Trustees and Fire Commission for their support!

From left to right: Fire Commissioner Fred Iles, Fire Chief Jack Schneidwind, Trustee John Kearny, Fire Commissioner Robert Olender, Trustee Chris Kunze and Trustee Shaun McDonald Not pictured Fire Commissiioner Pat Dempsey

Partnerships

Our appreciation for our partnerships and support

Our mission in serving the residents and visitors of Itasca and surrounding communities, would not be possible without the assistance of our community partners. These organizations help us provide the best in class service and resources for the smallest to the biggest emergency. Each partner plays a vital role in taking care of Itasca

Special thanks to Fire Photographer and Friend, Tim Olk.

Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi secured $2.5 million dollar Federal congressional appropriation to aid in the construction of Station 67.

Station 66 renovations including a new front entryway, updated bunkrooms, bathrooms, ﬂooring, mechanicals and insulation of brick walls for energy eﬃciency.

FEMA - Assistance for Fire Fighter Grant awarded $180,000 to purchase new ﬁre hose, purchase thermal imaging cameras, replace the vehicle exhaust system and active shooter training drill supplies.

FEMA - Fire Prevention & Safety Grant awarded $46,000 for installation of smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors and natural gas/carbon monoxide detectors

Hosted ﬁre service thought leader, Nick Martin - Combat Ready Training, to deliver critical leadership training addressing culture and safety for success in the ﬁre service.

Hosted a large scale active shooter training drill with Itasca Police Department, Roselle Fire Department, Roselle Police Department and Northwest Community Paramedic students.

Launched a new website to improve communication and community engagement.

Hosted Mid-Rise live fire training in conjunction with Illinois Fire Service Institute (IFSI). This training event over six day training event says was attended by over 800 firefighters and 15 departments.

Began construction for ﬁre station 67 at 1295 N. Arlington Heights Road.

DRILLS

VILLAGE INSPECTIONS

SIGNIFICANT Incidents

Total number of incident calls were 1,797 There were 1,152 incident calls related to Emergency Medical Services.

Fire Station 66

The original fire station was built in 1971-1972. The structure included three bays, administrative offices, bunkroom, and kitchen. With the growth of the Village of Itasca, the needs of the district also expanded. In 1991-2, an addition including; training room, updated kitchen, updated bunkrooms, and expanded the administrative offices.

In 2018, the Board of Trustees discussed improvements to the fire station and proceeded with a referendum for capital funds. In 2023, after COVID, the process to evaluate the needs of the fire station with the goal of maintenance, energy efficiency and modern design.

Construction began in the summer of 2024 and was completed in January 2025. The first order of business was to remove the outdated and leaky atrium, which housed the 1890 pumper. Along with a new entry area, the bunkrooms and bathrooms were gutted and redesigned, the flooring was replaced with low maintenance durable tile and updated carpeting. Mechanical systems were updated adding efficiency and the ceiling tiles were replaced. A priority was keeping the districts history alive and visible to the community A glass enclosed historical room was created to display the antique pumper and other artifacts.

New Station 66 Entrance

FireStation67

Our Vision statement proclaims ”Our team will adapt to the ever-changing needs of the community we serve. ” With our Mission to “positively impact lives and protect property ” now is the time to add a second ﬁre station on the north side of town. Since the opening of the temporary ﬁre station quarters in August 2023, residents routinely thank the district for adding protection to the north side of the railroad tracks. In an emergency time is of the essences.

The need for a fire station on the north side of Itasca became more important with the Surface Transportation Boards approval of the merger between Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern Railroads. This merger will continue to increase the number and length of freight trains. Seeing the need to help, Congress Raja Krishnamoorthi, assisted in securing a Federal Congressional Appropriation of $2.5 million dollars to assist in the construction of the fire station.

The 7000 sq. ft. fire station will include sleeping quarters for five, kitchen, living space, fitness center, office and two door apparatus bays. Construction will began in January 2025 with expected completion in December of 2025. The estimated cost for this station is $5.5 million dollars.