Lemont Fire Protection District
The mission of the Lemont Fire Protection District is to continue the tradition of providing professional service to all with Integrity, Honor and Dedication.
Serving the Community Since 1886
The department’s goal is to provide the highest quality of emergency service through prevention, preparedness, response and recovery programs, to promote community awareness and participation in fire prevention and disaster preparedness.
How to prevent home fires
U.S. fire departments respond to a home fire every 86 seconds. That’s over 1,000 fires a day.
Home fires are not 100 percent preventable. Though, you can take necessary steps today to reduce your risk of home fires. Here’s how:
- Install and maintain smoke alarms on every floor of your home and within every bedroom. Roughly 50% of home fire deaths occur during the night while people are sleeping.
- Never leave food cooking unattended, especially deep fryers and other frying equipment.
- Avoid using portable and fixed space heaters, as heating equipment is the second leading cause of home fire deaths.
- Have a fire plan that gets you out of your home in less than two minutes and practice it.
- Avoid smoking in the house.
Electrical safety & home fire prevention
Electrical malfunctions are one of the leading causes of home fires. Make sure that you hire a qualified electrician to make any changes in your home. In addition, be sure to check electrical cords regularly, and make sure cords do not run across doorways or under carpets where they could be damaged.
Remember to limit the number of plugs you have in an electrical outlet or power strip. Overloading an electrical outlet can not only trip a breaker, but it could also start a fire.
Additionally, only use light bulbs that match the recommended wattage for each lamp. Your lamps and light fixtures should have a sticker that indicates the maximum wattage light bulb you may use.
Testing your smoke detector could save your life
Every smoke alarm should be tested monthly by pushing the “test” button and batteries should be changed when needed. It is best to always have at least one spare battery. If your smoke alarm ever “chirps,” it is time to replace the battery immediately. Most smoke alarm failures occur because of a missing or disconnected battery or a dead battery.
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) estimates that three out of every five home fire deaths resulted from fires where there were non-working smoke detectors or no smoke
detectors at all. Having the proper fire safety equipment in your home can truly save your life.
Where to install smoke detectors
The NFPA recommends installing a smoke alarm on every floor, including the basement, and inside every sleeping room. Smoke alarms should be mounted high on a wall not more than a foot from the ceiling or on the ceiling. Remember, smoke rises.
- Kitchen: It is critical to mount smoke alarms in the kitchen at least 10 feet from any cooking appliance to minimize false alarms when cooking.
- Basement: Smoke alarms in the basement should be installed on the ceiling near the bottom step of the stairs up to the first floor.
There are many brands and types of smoke alarms you can choose from. All of the best smoke alarms should meet the Underwriters Laboratories Standard. Look for the UL label on the packaging.
To operate a fire extinguisher, remember the word “PASS:”
- Pull the pin. Hold the fire extinguisher with the nozzle pointing away from you and remove the pin to unlock it.
- Aim low. Point the nozzle at the base of the fire.
- Squeeze the lever slowly and evenly.
- Sweep the nozzle from side-to-side.
Fire extinguishers should be checked regularly and tested by a professional every few years.
Different types of fire extinguishers
It’s also useful to know that there are five different types of fire extinguishers for putting out different kinds of fires.
- Class A extinguishers: for use on materials like cloth, wood, and paper.
- Class B extinguishers: for use on combustible and flammable liquids like oil, gasoline, and grease.
- Class C extinguishers: best for electrical equipment and appliances like stoves, televisions, and computers.
- Class D extinguishers: for use with flammable metals.
- Class K extinguishers: best for cooking oils commonly found in commercial kitchens, including vegetable oil.
Lemont Fire District is participating in the “Be Alarmed” Smoke Alarm Installation Campaign
“Be Alarmed!” is a fire safety education and smoke alarm installation program administered cooperatively between the Illinois Fire Safety Alliance (IFSA) and the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal (OSFM). The program distributes fire safety education materials and Ionization smoke alarms with a 10-year concealed battery to fire departments in the state of Illinois. The fire departments then deliver the education and install smoke alarms in homes within their communities while recording data for reporting purposes. Both the educational materials and smoke alarms are provided to fire departments at no cost as a result of funding from both the IFSA and OSFM with additional assistance from Kidde and Menards. The program seeks to:
- Educate Illinois residents, young and old, on home fire safety and prevention methods
- Reduce the number of fire-related injuries in Illinois
- Reduce the number of fire-related deaths in Illinois
- Identify the reason for non-working smoke alarms in Illinois homes.
- According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), working smoke alarms are the key to saving lives from fire.
- Fire can grow and spread through a home in a matter of minutes. The advance warning provided by smoke alarms can be essential to saving lives.
- In fires in which the smoke alarms were present but did not operate, 46% of the smoke alarms had missing or disconnected batteries NFPA’s “Smoke Alarms in U.S. Home Fires” ~Sept. ’15
- Three of every five home fire deaths resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms (38%) or no working smoke alarms (21%) NFPA’s “Smoke Alarms in U.S. Home Fires” ~Sept. ’15
The smoke alarms received from the “Be alarmed! Program are for homeowners only, landlords must supply and install their own smoke alarms for their tenants.
If you are a homeowner and in need of smoke alarms for your residence, please contact the Lemont Fire Protection Bureau at 630.257.0191 or email sdominik@lemontfire.com for scheduling of installation.
My Medical Information
The Lemont Fire Protection District is pleased to provide FREE My Medical Information kits to the senior citizens, those with special needs, and others within the District that may need them.
The kits consist of a red plastic pouch with a magnetic back and are intended to be attached to an individual’s refrigerator. Inside the pouch is a cardboard pamphlet that an individual can use to write down his or her personal information, emergency contacts, medications, allergies, medical conditions, and advanced directives. Paramedics can then use this vital information when providing emergency care.
To obtain your FREE My Medical Information kit, contact the Fire Prevention Bureau at (630) 257-0191 or fpb@lemontfire.com. Provide your name and mailing address, and a kit can be mailed to you. You may also stop by Station One, located at 15900 New Ave, Monday thru Friday, from 8:00 AM to 4:00 to pick one up.
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Request A Tour
To request a tour of the Fire Station, contact Sandy Dominik at (331) 318-5625 or email, sdominik@lemontfire.com
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The Lemont Fire Protection District provides Life Safety services to you and your family
- Fire Suppression
- Advanced Life Support Emergency Medical Services
- Specialized Technical Rescue Teams – Dive, Aerial, Confined Space, Trench
- Cause and Origin & Arson Investigation Team
- Fire Prevention Bureau – Fire Inspection & Public Education
- Hazardous Materials Services
Today, The Lemont Fire District protects over 26.4 square miles, with a population of 24,048. The Municipalities within the District boundaries include the Village of Lemont, Palos Park, Woodridge, and unincorporated Will, Cook and Dupage Counties areas, The District is located 22 miles southwest of Chicago.
Learn Hands-Only CPR to help save the life of a loved one
Lemont Fire District is encouraging the public to learn the American Heart Association’s “Hands-Only CPR.” This simple way of performing CPR has proven to be very easy to do and effective for the victim. Hands-Only CPR does not require mouth-to-mouth and simplifies the cardio-pulmonary resuscitation process for an adult in cardiac arrest.
The American Heart Association has found Hands-Only CPR to be as effective as conventional CPR for sudden cardiac arrest at home, at work, or in the public – doubling or even tripling a victim’s chance of survival.
Since 80% of cardiac arrests happen in private or residential settings, learn these simple steps for performing Hands-Only CPR to possibly help save the life of a loved one:
- Call 9-1-1 immediately.
- Place hands, one on top of the other, in the center of the person’s chest.
- Begin compressions, pushing hard and fast in the center of the chest.
- Keep doing compressions until help arrives.
Visit the American Heart Association’s website at www.heart.org/handsonlycpr to watch their Hands-Only CPR instructional video.
Fires in the U.S.
In 2016, there were 1,342,000 fires reported in the United States. These fires caused 3,390 civilian deaths, 14,650 civilian injuries, and $10.6 billion in property damage.
- 475,500 were structure fires, causing 2,950 civilian deaths, 12,775 civilian injuries, and $7.9 billion in property damage.
- 173,000 were vehicle fires, causing 280 civilian fire deaths, 1,075 civilian fire injuries, and $933 million in property damage.
- 662,500 were outside and other fires, causing 85 civilian fire deaths, 650 civilian fire injuries, and $1.4 billion in property damage.
The 2016 U.S. fire loss clock a fire department responded to a fire every 24 seconds. One structure fire was reported every 66 seconds.
- One home structure fire was reported every 90 seconds.
- One civilian fire injury was reported every 34 minutes.
- One civilian fire death occurred every 2 hours and 35 minutes.
- One outside and other fire was reported every 48 seconds.
- One highway vehicle fire was reported every 3 minutes 2 seconds. NFPA Statistics