ALWAYS ON DUTY, ALWAYS TRAINING

Your Hinsdale Fire Department

The old, horse-drawn Howe pumper in front of the Tower 84 ladder truck

This Thanksgiving and According to Giannelli, the department purchased a pair of new Lucas automatic holiday season, HM thought began with the founders of the village chest compression systems. it would be appropriate to served on it. "These devices provide continuous chest recognize the Hinsdale Fire "Since that time, we continue to compressions during a sudden cardiac Department. preserve our history with displays and arrest event," Giannelli said. "Even though

According to Hinsdale fire chief John memorials throughout our station," he we respond with all six shift members Giannelli, the fire department takes "great said. "Our Station 2, located right in front on a reported cardiac arrest, the Lucas pride" in serving the community." of the firehouse, houses a horse-drawn fire device helps maximize our manpower to "I am very proud of all the members engine among other historical department provide the best possible outcome for the and everything they have accomplished, keepsakes. patient. Our patient survival rates are the achieved and continue to strive for," “When it comes to being innovative, our best we have seen, and it’s because of this Giannelli said. specialized equipment, our

The Hinsdale Fire “Our fire department takes great training and teamwork." Department was awarded the Joseph Hartmann award pride in serving the community. I am Nearly all members of the fire department have or are of excellence in 2020. This award is presented to a medic crew or fire department that very proud of all the members and everything they have accomplished, in the process of achieving an associate’s, bachelor’s, and/or Master’s degree. All best exhibits excellence in the delivery of emergency care in a achieved and continue to strive for.” department members extend their learning throughout pre-hospital setting. - JOHN GIANNELLI, Hinsdale fire chief their fire careers, by completing continuing education courses,

“Our department’s history, fire department continues to advance in in addition to firefighter advancement traditions and values are exhibited by our fire and life safety methods and practices. classes and officer development training. firefighters that serve this community every day," Giannelli said. "Our mission statement says it all: ‘To be worthy of the trust placed upon us, and to uphold the privilege of wearing this uniform every day.' Thirty years ago, we were one of the first few fire departments to cross-train firefighters to the paramedic level to provide advanced life support EMS services." Many department members are trained in a specialized skill, and are assigned to teams or task forces that provide mutualaid to the surrounding communities. All In recent years, the department has Hinsdale firefighters are state-certified

paramedics, six are CPR instructors and two are critical-care paramedics. Three are members of the Illinois firefighter peer support team, and are deployed to provide mental-health and wellness resources; three others are on the fire investigator team; two more are on the DuPage County arson and fire investigation task force; and three are on the hazardous materials (HAZMAT) response team.

Firefighters with the department were deployed to assist in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina hit, to Utica after a deadly tornado passed through the vicinity, and to numerous structure fires and mass-casualty incidents throughout the Chicagoland area.

“We are called upon to respond to these types of emergencies, because we train at the highest levels and maintain state-of-theart apparatus and equipment,” Giannelli said, adding that members record roughly 7,000 training hours per year, which greatly exceeds state and federal requirements.

On their days off, the firefighters teach, train and educate other firefighters in surrounding departments. Two members are instructors for the emergency medical technician (EMT) program and the fire science technology degree programs at the College of DuPage. Another is a field instructor with the Illinois Fire Service Institute at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, and also serves as a mentor for firefighter programs across the state. Another is on the International Association of Fire Chiefs' national safety board, and two members work as emergency-room technicians at local hospitals.

The Hinsdale Fire and Police Departments continually train and work closely together, along with neighboring departments, schools and local healthcare providers and hospitals. In 2019, the rescue task force was formed and developed to better prepare and train local responders for potential threats or acts of violence.

The fire department is also heavily involved with public education and community outreach programs and events throughout the village. Members participate and assist with the community’s Safety Village program, Wellness House events, preschool and early childhood education programs, and visit local schools to share fire prevention and safety tips.

In addition, the department provides CPR training and certification for residents and healthcare providers. It partnered with the DuPage Narcan program, and hosted a community training event at the new Hinsdale Middle School, providing the community an opportunity to learn about opioid overdoes and training on Narcan administration, a lifesaving antidote that is used to save someone who overdosed on opioids.

The department holds an annual open house for families to learn about fire and life safety, climb on the apparatuses, participate in a “firefighter physical challenge" and

experiment with a fire extinguisher.

For the past ten years, the department has hosted a charity softball event in honor of former deputy fire chief Mark Johnson, who died in the line of duty in 2010. This event raises money for local charities, such as Safety Village, Wellness House, the Make-a-Wish Foundation, Illinois Burn Camp, Special Olympics and the Illinois Firefighter Survivor Network.

Around Christmas time, firefighters and their families have purchased, wrapped and delivered Christmas presents to children served by Wellness House. Fire department responses by the numbers

The department responds to calls for service that involve fires, emergency medical services (EMS) and other emergencyrelated incidents. It is split up into three shifts, (black, red and gold,) each working 24-hour shifts every day. In addition to shift members, its administrative staff includes the chief, assistant chief, administrative services coordinator, fire inspector and IT support staff.

In 2019, the department responded to a total of 2,645 calls—an average of 7.2 calls per day—631 of which were fire-related responses. More than 1,400 calls were related to emergency medical services, and there were 579 emergency-service responses for emergencies such as carbon monoxide alarms, downed or arching power equipment, elevator emergencies, lock-ins and lock-outs, spills and leaks and other hazard investigations.

In addition, the fire prevention bureau conducted a total of 1,102 activities, which included fire inspections, fire-alarm drills, school crisis planning and sprinkler-system testing.