Fire Department centennial brings back fond memories for many

LOMBARD — This year, the Lombard Fire Department is getting nostalgic, and current members of the force collaborate with dozens of former Lombard firefighters to celebrate the department’s 100th birthday.

The centennial kicked off Jan. 3 at Fire Station 1, with a celebration that included many of the department’s former chiefs and firefighters. A similar gathering was held in the same location exactly 100 years prior, when the founding members of the Lombard Fire Department held their first meeting.

Lombardians will be able to experience the history of the Lombard fire Department beginning Sunday, as the village’s historical society opens a special exhibit at the newly-renovated Carriage House.

Jackets from former members of the department line one wall along with old photos of the fire department. The exhibit even brings an interactive component for children.

“The fire department lent me a bunch of stuff that kids can dress up in, that kids can touch,” said Sarah Richardt, senior educational coordinator with the Lombard Historical Society.

Along with dressing up in firefighter jackets, boots and hats, children will be able to write letters to some of Lombard’s current firefighters.

In addition to helping develop the new exhibit, Richardt is writing a commemorative book on the history of the Lombard Fire Department, which will be included in a time capsule to be buried at the fire station later this year.

Before the Lombard Fire Department was founded, residents would be alerted to a fire in town by the tolling of a bell at Maple Street Chapel. Community members would come out and help fight the fire.

“I’m not sure why they started,” Richardt said. “There wasn’t a major fire that prompted it.”

Some of the earliest equipment included two horse-drawn wagons, one that carried the water pumper and one that carried the hook and ladder.

The department purchased its first vehicle in 1923 and its second rig in 1929, she said. The trucks allowed the fire department to reach more fires than they could with horses and a wagon.

“It’s funny,” Richardt said. “All of the (current firefighters) really like the trucks. What they want to know is about the rigs, they want to know about the apparatuses and the pumps.”

In 1963, Jack Jones, who still lives in town, became the department’s first paid chief, although the process of firefighters becoming staff positions was slow and indistinct, Richardt said.

Previous to staffing, firefighters worked on a paid-on-call basis, where they were paid when they worked or paid when they responded to a fire. Some of the current Lombard firefighters started their careers as paid-on-call.

The village’s fire station at 50 E. St. Charles Road is the site of the founding meeting of the Lombard Fire Department. The first members of the department met in a shack that was later torn down and replaced with Fire Station 1.

Firefighters worked out of a garage until 1929, when the village approved $14,000 to be spent on a new fire station. The money was approved two days after the stock market crashed, Richardt said. Fire Station 1 was replaced in 1987 with its current building.

Lombard used to maintain a third fire station — supplementary to the ones on St. Charles Road and Highland Avenue — at the site of the West Suburban Bank on Westmore-Meyers Road. Drivers who look carefully will notice style elements of the building similar to what is seen in firehouses, said Lombard Battalion Chief Marty Coomes.

Coomes led the planning for the centennial kick-off in January and is involved in the planning for other activities happening throughout the year.

The second floor training room in the fire station was recently painted and redecorated to resemble a museum of fire history. There are photos of Lombard’s previous rigs, donated helmets, cases of badges and other artifacts. Coomes said this redecorated space will be helpful when kids come through on fire house tours.

Having so much history in the building has also been interesting for current members of the department, especially some of the newer ones.

“I think the guys like it,” Coomes said. “It’s a good way to teach a lot of the new guys. They’ve heard stories, now they can see it. It paints the picture.”

To celebrate the centennial, all Lombard firefighters are wearing specially-designed badges this year, which are replicas of the original badges worn by the department. Centennial flags are also flying outside both fire stations.

In May, the fire department plans to bring a horse-drawn engine to march in the Lilac Parade, and sometime in the fall there will be a special luncheon at the fire station for current and retired firefighters.

“I hope we bring back more of the retired guys,” Coomes said. “It’s a great opportunity for them to come back. (The centennial) boosts the spirit of the department."