YOUR NEW VILLA PARK ARGUS | ALSO SERVING OAKBROOK TERRACE U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin takes a ride Aug. 7 on the new Villa Park fire engine.
By AIMEE BARROWS
Erica Benson - ebenson@shawmedia.com
editorial@mysuburbanlife.com VILLA PARK t’s been a long time coming, and now the Villa Park Fire Department’s new fire engine is ready for duty. The engine is scheduled to begin service Aug. 14 after arriving at the department in early July. Fire Chief Ron Rakosnik said it was “long overdue,” and after undergoing training on the new engine during the past month, the firemen are very excited to put it into use. “This is tremendous for our village; it was very much needed,” he said. “The guys deserve this, and our residents deserve this, too. As a chief, you fight to make your guys safe, so we try to get them the best equipment.” The new engine was paid for largely with a FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant. The village was awarded the $432,000 grant in July 2014. Rakosnik said the cost of the engine was $522,000, so the village contributed about $90,000. The new engine replaced the village’s 26-year-old engine, which was donated to the University of Illinois’ fire academy for training purposes. “The old one didn’t have air bags or very many safety features, so this new one makes our firefighters safe and it’s more reliable,” Rakosnik said.
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FIRED UP
Villa Park debuts new fire engine FRIDAY, AUGUST 14, 2015 | $1.50 | MYSUBURBANLIFE.COM/VILLAPARK
See ENGINE, page 2
Vol. 126 No. 33 | ED | VPA
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