Editorial: Rockton fire, tornadoes underscore importance of state's mutual aid system
The motto of Illinois' Mutual Aid Box Alarm System is simple, but powerful: "Got Your Back."
And fire departments across the state proved that last week as they took part in a massive response to the explosion and fire at the Chemtool Inc. lubricant production plant in Rockton.
As of Friday, 350 people - firefighters, chiefs and emergency medical personnel - from 167 agencies helped battle the blaze and cover Rockton's firehouse in rotating shifts.
Many suburban firefighters were among them in what is now the largest in-state mobilization of firefighting efforts in MABAS' history, according to Kevin Lyne, the Wheeling-based agency's section chief for operations.
MABAS helped again this week as a tornado tore through parts of the suburbs. The agency coordinated the response of four generator/light towers to Naperville to bring light to the area at night until power could be restored.
These kind of responses validate the importance of MABAS.
"The mutual aid system is one of the best in the country," said West Chicago Fire Chief Patrick Tanner, who was part of a group of firefighter crews from Glen Ellyn, Itasca, Oak Brook and Roselle that helped in Rockton.
Statewide mutual aid systems date back to the late 1960s, but MABAS was largely centered in Northern Illinois prior to Sept. 11, 2001. Since then, mutual response systems have grown.
Illinois now has 69 MABAS divisions; 29 participated in less than 72 hours in Rockton.
For an article Thursday, our Kevin Schmit interviewed a number of suburban fire chiefs who were in Rockton or sent crews there.
They described the flames, the billowing clouds of smoke, the massive response. Some said it was the biggest fire they'd ever faced.
The past year has shown us that true heroes are all around us - in hospitals, vaccination centers, medical research labs and the like.
Last week reminded us once again of the incredible work of our firefighters, who put their lives on the line to battle blazes in their own communities and, when needed, hours away.
Antioch Fire Chief Jon Cokefair told Schmit last week he never sleeps easy when his crews are on night calls, and that was the case when he sent an engine to Rockton.
"As a chief you need to make sure you do everything you can to get them home safely," Cokefair said. "You sleep a lot lighter on nights like that."
The rest of us, however, should sleep better knowing that the fire departments across the state do indeed have our backs.
Hats off to them for all that they do to keep us safe.