Full Text of HR0945 94th General Assembly
HR0945 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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HR0945 |
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LRB094 19591 HSS 55786 r |
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The Canton Fire Department celebrated its 100th | 3 |
| anniversary with an open house on Saturday and Sunday, February | 4 |
| 4 and 5, 2006; and
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| WHEREAS, Canton's first volunteer fire department was | 6 |
| formed in 1846 with around 50 men; firefighting tactics | 7 |
| consisted of using huge poles with hooks attached to pull down | 8 |
| the walls of burning buildings to prevent the spread of fire; a | 9 |
| bucket brigade also was used when it was thought to be | 10 |
| effective in dousing a fire; and
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| WHEREAS, After a major fire in 1868, the city council | 12 |
| passed an ordinance to establish a fire department; in October | 13 |
| of that year, the department purchased a fire engine and hose | 14 |
| reel; the city council later voted to erect a building to house | 15 |
| fire equipment and provide for a jail and council rooms; | 16 |
| construction was completed in 1869; and
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| WHEREAS, When fire apparatus was first acquired, it was | 18 |
| hand-drawn; later it was powered by horses; the volunteer fire | 19 |
| department did not own horses, but contracted with individuals | 20 |
| to furnish horses to pull the equipment; and
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| WHEREAS, In 1906, Canton officials decided full-time, | 22 |
| professional fire protection was needed and on February 19, | 23 |
| 1906, the first paid fire department was organized; and
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| WHEREAS, Today, firefighters work in a 3-platoon system, | 25 |
| with 24 hours on and 48 hours off, averaging a 56-hour work | 26 |
| week; the department has staffed five persons per shift since | 27 |
| 1974; and | 28 |
| WHEREAS, The department is technologically up-to-date and | 29 |
| uses thermal imaging devices that detect objects of varying |
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HR0945 |
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LRB094 19591 HSS 55786 r |
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| temperatures, helping firefighters find victims through heavy | 2 |
| smoke and enabling them to note hot spots while fighting a | 3 |
| fire; the department's pumper trucks are computerized and | 4 |
| personal protective equipment is modernized; and | 5 |
| WHEREAS, In the late 1970s, firefighters began to provide | 6 |
| emergency medical services and today, EMS accounts for | 7 |
| two-thirds of alarms received in a year; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 9 |
| NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 10 |
| we congratulate the Canton Fire Department on the occasion of | 11 |
| its 100th anniversary; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 13 |
| presented to the Canton Fire Department as an expression of our | 14 |
| esteem.
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