Orland Fire Protection District annual Open House showcases its emergency response services
The Orland Fire Protection District hosted its annual Open House for district residents which showcased an array of emergency response services to educate residents on best practices for ensuring public safety Thursday, July 13, 2023.
This year’s Open House was held during evening hours to allow residents who could not attend past weekend events to enjoy the Open House which attracted more than 250 people who learned about what the district’s firefighters/paramedics do to save lives and property.
The Open House featured more than a dozen demonstrations, displays and allowed public access to the district’s firefighting equipment including emergency response vehicles.
“On behalf of the Board of Trustees and the entire Orland Fire Protection District, I would like to welcome everyone to our Open House this evening. We have many demonstrations of what we do as firefighter / paramedics and why our district is the best,” said OFPD Fire Chief Michael Schofield said in welcoming attendees.
“Our firefighters / paramedics are well trained. We are proud to say we are the best in the region. And, we have the only regional training center around here. We are very proud of what we have here. We have invested a lot of time and money. You can see that when you call our firefighters / paramedics out. Whether they are responding to an ambulance call, a car accident, a house fire or a rescue, there is nobody better trained than the members of the Orland Fire Protection District.”
Schofield was joined by the district’s Battalion Chiefs, instructors, and Public Life & Safety Educator Betsy Dine who coordinates the Open House each year, EMS Coordinator Lt. Josh Girdick! And, our Training Officer Lt. Michael Siefert,
Also attending were OFPD Trustees Beth Damas Kaspar, Tina Zekich and Angela Greenfield, and members of the Senior Advisory Council (SAC) which provides information to the OFPD’s Senior Citizen community and is open to Senior membership.
Firefighters/paramedics offered demonstrations of their specific emergency services were OFPD CPR and AED instructors, the 9-1-1 Dispatchers/calling 9-1-1 station, members of the Senior Advisory Council Members (SAC), the Healing Hearts Comfort Dogs and their incredible raffle table, Chicago Bicycle Safety, Home Depot- Kid’s building table, Project Fire Buddies, Versiti Blood Center, Spectrum Racing, Lowes-Kid’s building table, Cook County Sheriff’s Police Department, and Aqua-Tots Swim School.
The Open House was held at the OFPD Training Center, 10728 W. 163rd Place.
Click this link to view the video or use the widget below:
His award winning columns can be found at www.HANANIA.COM Subscribe FREE today
Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.
Email Ray Hanania at [email protected].
Follow RayHanania at Twitter
- Orland Fire District appoints Des Breese as Director of Orland Central Dispatch - November 19, 2025
- Leving Matrimonial Law Seminar: Maintaining Excellence in Matrimonial Law and Client Advocacy - November 19, 2025
- Loop’s declining value fuels record 16.7% jump in median property tax bill for Chicago homeowners - November 17, 2025
Comment on “Orland Fire Protection District annual Open House showcases its emergency response services”