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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
3 | Representatives are pleased to congratulate the Mount Prospect | ||||||
4 | Fire Department on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of its | ||||||
5 | founding; and
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6 | WHEREAS, The Mount Prospect Fire Department was formed by | ||||||
7 | community leaders at a meeting at the Central School on | ||||||
8 | September 29, 1913, when the Village had a population of only | ||||||
9 | 300, and the Department's small number of volunteers performed | ||||||
10 | their duties with only ladders, buckets, and a hand pump; and | ||||||
11 | WHEREAS, Early in the Department's history, various pieces | ||||||
12 | of equipment were purchased, including the first vehicle, a | ||||||
13 | Buick Chassis truck, and the first fire engine, an American | ||||||
14 | LaFrance referred to as "Ol' Betsy"; and | ||||||
15 | WHEREAS, The Village of Mount Prospect approved pay for | ||||||
16 | firefighters and in the mid-1940s constructed the first | ||||||
17 | permanent building for the Fire Department at a cost of | ||||||
18 | $112,600; and | ||||||
19 | WHEREAS, The Mount Prospect Fire Department expanded in the | ||||||
20 | 1960s and 1970s, hiring its first 2 full-time firefighters, | ||||||
21 | building a second fire station, purchasing its first ambulance, |
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1 | and acquiring a Dalmatian mascot named Smokey; and | ||||||
2 | WHEREAS, In 1970, the Mount Prospect Fire Department became | ||||||
3 | a founding member of the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS), | ||||||
4 | an agreement for resource-sharing and cooperation among | ||||||
5 | departments in responding to emergencies; and | ||||||
6 | WHEREAS, In a demonstration of planning for the future, the | ||||||
7 | Department established a partnership with Northwest Community | ||||||
8 | Hospital in 1972 to create one of the first paramedic programs | ||||||
9 | in the country, and then later teamed up with Arlington Heights | ||||||
10 | and Elk Grove Village to establish the first centralized | ||||||
11 | emergency dispatch center in the Chicagoland area; and
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12 | WHEREAS, The Mount Prospect Fire Department joined with the | ||||||
13 | fire departments of Arlington Heights, Elk Grove Village, and | ||||||
14 | Des Plaines to form a 4-town Hazardous Materials Team; and
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15 | WHEREAS, Firefighters from the Mount Prospect Fire | ||||||
16 | Department were among the volunteers who traveled to Louisiana | ||||||
17 | to assist in the recovery from Hurricane Katrina; and
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18 | WHEREAS, The Mount Prospect Fire Department is tasked with | ||||||
19 | the responsibility of overseeing emergency management for the | ||||||
20 | entire Village; and
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1 | WHEREAS, The Mount Prospect Fire Department has grown along | ||||||
2 | with the Village's needs and now has 3 stations, 4 engines, 3 | ||||||
3 | ambulances, and 88 personnel to respond to the nearly 6,000 | ||||||
4 | calls it receives each year; therefore, be it
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5 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
6 | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
7 | we honor the Mount Prospect Fire Department on the occasion of | ||||||
8 | its 100th anniversary and recognize its outstanding record of | ||||||
9 | service to Village residents during those 100 years; and be it | ||||||
10 | further
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11 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
12 | presented to the Mount Prospect Village Board and the Mount | ||||||
13 | Prospect Fire Department as a symbol of our esteem and respect.
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