‘One of those guys you look up to’: Longtime firefighter dies at 68

Firefighters learning the ropes in the Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District were fortunate if they had Ron Houghton on their crew.

“He was a mentor to many including myself,” said Fire Chief John Knebl, who’s been with the district since 1995. “Ron was one of those guys who you looked up to. He was good at his job and he knew what to expect. He was one of those guys that people gravitated toward.”

Knebl said that for firefighters on a crew with Houghton, “you were going to learn something and he would show you the right way to do it.”

Houghton, 68, died Thursday, with his family at his side in his Lake in the Hills home. He’ survived by his wife, Amy, and two children, David and Kevin, according to the district.

“He was very close to his boys and very proud of his boys as well,” Knebl said.

Houghton served nearly 39 years as a firefighter and emergency medical technician in the Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District.

Hired by the district on June 12, 1979, his walkout — or retirement — ceremony took place April 29, 2018.

A tradesman in construction when he was not on duty, Houghton’s tenure with the fire protection district spanned its history from a volunteer organization to a professional department that with full- and part-time personnel.

“He's going to be very, very missed, I’ll tell you that. He was missed when he retired,” said Sean Baumgartner, a firefighter and paramedic with the district, and president of Firefighters Local No. 3985.

Back in the “old days,” Knebl said, Houghton would leave family dinners or his sons’ sports events to attend to a fire.

“He was always available,” Knebl said.

Houghton was called into duty during what the chief called an “historical fire,” the October 2010 blaze that consumed the abandoned Toastmaster factory, 401 Washington St. in Algonquin.

Houghton became a firefighter for “all the right reasons,” Knebl said.

“He did the job not for honors, he did the job to serve his community, and I think he really enjoyed being a firefighter,” Knebl said.

Baumgartner, who worked with Houghton at Station 3, on Algonquin’s east side, said his knowledge of the job and familiarity with the area made him one of the district’s top engineers.

“There's lot that goes into it, and Ron knew it,” said Baumgartner, who remembered Houghton always having a smile on his face. “It’s kind of a punch in the gut when you hear about (his death).

“Not retired long enough, I don't think, from 2018 to Thursday night. It doesn't seem fair,” he added.