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Orland Fire hosts Independence Day celebration for Seniors
Orland Fire Protection District, IL – The Orland Fire Protection District Senior Club hosted an Independence celebration for the district’s Senior citizens on Wednesday, July 1, 2026 to celebrate the nation’s 250th Anniversary.
The celebration included a barbecue luncheon prepared by Fire District firefighters and was held in doors because of the day’s extreme heat in the OFPD Board Room inside the Administration Building, 9790 W. 151st Street in Orland Park.
About 50 of the district’s seniors registered and attended the Independence celebration barbecue which included hot dogs, hamburgers, salads and pop Independence.
The event, which was held between 11 AM and 1:30 PM, also included Bingo and prizes.
Fire Chief John Purtill was at a drill in a neighboring community and came by later. The seniors were welcomed by Deputy Fire Chief Josh Girdick, Fire Commissioner Mohammed Jaber and Betsy Dine, Community Risk Reduction Educator Betsy Dine, who organized the event along with members of the OFPD Senior Advisory Council.
During the event, Dine offered a caution to seniors and to everyone to pay extra attention of any electronics that use Lithium-Ion Batteries, noting that the Fire District has seen a rise in fires caused by their overheating.
The event is among several hosted each year by the OFPD as an opportunity to provide information to the public and especially to seniors, of fire safety.
“If you’re hearing about fires, now is the time that we’re seeing a lot of lithium ion battery fires. People have them in their homes, we have them on our iPads, our phones, our computers, all kinds of different places, so we have to be very careful and aware of those Lithium Ion Batteries,” Dine said.
For more information, visit www.OrlandFire.org.
— Press Release
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