Oak Brook fire chief saying goodbye after 36 years

Oak Brook Fire Chief Jim Bodony has a hard time explaining to those not in the profession why he became a firefighter.

"You kind of get it in your blood and can't get enough of it," he said. "Once you get hooked, it becomes a part of you."

His older brother was a firefighter and the calling was passed down, he said.

After 36 years with the Oak Brook Fire Department, Bodony will retire March 16. The village board will have a send-off for him when it meets Tuesday, March 10.

Bodony started his career in Oak Brook on June 16, 1972, after some time in the military.

"I went to Oak Brook because it was one of the premier departments at the time," he said. "It's a great community to work in."

He was one of the first firefighters in the village to be trained as an emergency medical technician after the department took over ambulance responsibilities from the police.

Around that time, Bodony was promoted to lieutenant. He became chief in July 2005.

Oak Brook has relatively few fires, but Bodony says its wide variety of buildings keeps firefighters on their toes.

"What I remember most is early Oak Brook, when it was turning from a dairy town into this big sprawling office center with high rises," he said.

Now the town has large houses and several office and commercial areas as well as horse barns and the mall.

When Bodony started his job, Oakbrook Center had only a few shops, including Marshall Field's, Sears and a Jewel grocery store.

During that era, one of the big jobs for the department was to carry water in their trucks for the horse shows at the polo grounds.

"We'd use the truck to wet down the dirt roads," Bodony said.

The department had to adapt as Oak Brook changed and larger homes started popping up.

Thankfully, Bodony says, few people have lost their lives to fire in Oak Brook, at least in part because of the village's strict building codes.

"We have a very proactive fire prevention program," he said.

Since he's been with the department, it has formed dive rescue and hazardous materials teams and hired arson investigators.

"The department has been taking more responsibility," he said. "The real plus has been that we're doing things safer now."

He said the village has embraced new fire-fighting technology so the department always has the best equipment to work with as well as some of the best candidates to work within the department.

"We do a lot with a very few people," he said.

Bodony said all the commercial areas are required to have sprinklers, which has helped contain fires. But he'd also like to see sprinklers put in some of the big houses as well, which can exceed 20,000 square feet and become comparable to commercial buildings.

"Those sprinklers used to be cost prohibitive," he said. "Now it's very affordable."

With the early retirement option in Oak Brook, Bodony said he will likely take a job in the private sector after he's had some time off. He'll also continue his longtime role as a volunteer firefighter in Glen Ellyn.

"It's been very rewarding," Bodony said of his career in Oak Brook. "I can't imagine having done anything else."