Lake Villa needs volunteer firefighters

If you live in the Lindenhurst area and are interested in saving lives and property, Lake Villa Fire Chief Frank Slazes would like to talk with you.

After passing a tax increase in 2006, the Lake Villa Fire Protection District opened a sparkling new station in Lindenhurst last year, but has yet to recruit a team of paid-on-call firefighters.

The new station was dedicated last June and is staffed 24 hours a day with paramedics. Since then, Slazes said, there has been a scarcity of volunteer firefighter applicants. "We haven't had one eligible person apply yet," he said.

Located on Grass Lake Road just west of Beck Road, the station is one of three in the district. The other two firehouses are in downtown Lake Villa and on Grand Avenue, west of Deep Lake Road. Incorporated in 1936, the fire district covers the villages of Lake Villa and Lindenhurst, and includes Lake Villa Township.

A third generation firefighter, Slazes said getting volunteer firefighters to cover the Lake Villa area hasn't been a problem. Staffing the Lindenhurst station has been more than challenging, but not for a lack of trying, he said.

"We've contacted the local media, have been present at career fairs and had booths at business expos too," Slazes said. "We've put signs up and still nothing."

The district receives about 600 emergency calls a year, while neighboring Antioch averages around 1,000. Slazes says the volunteers are paid $18 for each call to which they respond.

Applicants should be at least 19 years old and prepared to invest 280 hours firefighter training. The district contracts with an outside agency, pays for the classes and supplies the gear. The classes meet twice a week.

Slazes emphasized the need for the volunteers to live close to the station. Rapid response time is a must.

"We got calls from people who live too far away. Some were in the South suburbs," he said. "That won't work for obvious reasons. The volunteers need to live no more than two miles away from Lindenhurst station."

Interested people should call (847) 356-2525

"We have to get these engines on the street," Slazes said. "We're hoping the word gets out there and people step up."