Carpentersville firefighter working hard to get back to it

Not a day goes by that Ronald Eglinton doesn’t think about returning to his part-time job with the Carpentersville Fire Department.

He’s had plenty of time to think about coming back.

Eglinton has not been on the job in nearly 10 months, due to a heart condition.

The 60-year-old said he failed a physical last year that showed his heart health wasn’t in line with existing standards for firefighters.

After the results came back, Eglinton took additional tests that determined two of his arteries were blocked, and he underwent double bypass surgery in March.

But he cannot go back to work until his heart meets fire department regulations.

“I want to (come back). I really miss it,” Eglinton said. “I miss going out on calls and I miss the people. I miss chief.”

He has plenty of motivation to return to his second family.

Eglinton, who joined the fire department in 1976, was recognized Tuesday for 35 years of service. The Carpentersville man also is known for filling in for Santa Claus at the annual holiday celebration at the main fire house.

Only three other firefighters have received the 35-year honors. Eglinton is the longest-serving active firefighter in the village, Chief John Schuldt said.

“Ron has touched thousands and thousands of lives as a paramedic and as a firefighter,” he said. “If Ron had a dollar in his pocket and someone needed it, Ron would give them that dollar.”

In December, thanks to a friend, Eglinton received a six-month membership to Cardinal Fitness in Algonquin and he’s been working out since then to stay fit. You’ll find him there three times a week doing cardio. Before that he was taking brisk walks through the neighborhood and he estimates he’s lost 20 pounds since he started exercising.

“I keep trying, I keep on going. I’m feeling real good, but it’s just that I have to meet the (standards),” Eglinton said.

Money is another motivation to come back, as finances are tight in the Eglinton household, said Virginia, his wife of 33 years. Eglinton estimates he was bringing home between $1,000 and $1,200 every two weeks as a firefighter. But now, they’re living on his retirement savings and on her Social Security check — she only gets $700 a month and says she’s unable to work because she had triple bypass surgery in 2003 and has suffered minor heart attacks ever since.

“I’ve been wanting him to get back for a long time,” Virginia Eglinton said. “I just keep hollering at him to go and get to work.”

Heart problems run in the family. In 2002, their 23-year-old son, Ronny Jr., died of a massive heart attack. That’s another driving force behind Eglinton’s desire to exercise.

Although Eglinton has not set a date to return to work, he hopes to slim down another 30 pounds, which would bring him down to 220 pounds, to get his heart back in good working order.

But he knows once he comes back, he needs to curb his junk-food cravings.

“The pizza is the worst and if you work at three, you go to a lot of these fast-food places ... that’ll kill you,” Eglinton said. “I won’t eat as much as I used to. But I’ll eat some.”