Art Granat remembers well the terrible day in March 1972 when the Melrose Display Fireworks factory exploded in Orland Park.
“It looked like a war zone,” he said. “There was not much fire. Everything was all scattered. It was more of a search and rescue.”
Two employees were confirmed dead after their remains were found, Granat said, and one employee was presumed dead although the remains were never found.
The factory covered about five acres and employed 25 people. It made fireworks for use around the Chicago area, including at Comiskey Park.
Granat shared that story and others with visitors Saturday at Orland Fire Protection District’s Open House, which also marked the district’s 50th anniversary.
Granat said the fireworks factory explosion shattered windows all over Orland Park and could be heard as far away as Chicago.
His father was chief of the fire district and he had been serving as a volunteer firefighter when he received the call to respond to the site while he was in Palos Heights.
Along with the five decades as an organized department, the open house also marked 125 years of volunteers fighting fires in Orland Park.
The former village hall was converted into a firehouse in 1894 and was initially used by 14 volunteer firemen who responded to emergencies with a hand-pump engine and a hose cart with 500 feet of hose.
The first major fire recorded in the Orland Park area was in 1912. It destroyed two saloons and a general store in the Alpine settlement at 167th Street and 108th Avenue.
But the deadliest fire in Orland Park’s history, Granat said, was the 1968 Biddle fire, which killed five members of one family, including three children. It was caused by a new heating unit that had been installed in the house in the 15800 block of 113th Court just two months previously.
Granat said his father also had been out to the residence a week prior and warned the owners to clean up the property because it was fire hazard.
A year later in 1969 the Orland Fire Protection District was formed after village officials passed an ordinance stating the village will no longer pay for the cost fire response efforts outside of Orland Park.
What started as a handful of volunteers has grown today to 145 full-time employees with at least 28 firefighters and paramedics on duty every day, said Chief Michael Schofield.
He said the equipment also has been changed and upgraded over the years, especially the means of alerting firefighters. Response times in Orland Park now average less than six minutes and in most cases are under three minutes.
“Everything we do is to get us out the door faster,” Schofield said.
He said the district also has one of the highest save rates for cardiac arrests in the state.
Schofield attributes this success to extensive training and because the district sends nine paramedics to cardiac arrest calls, so they can rotate to apply constant CPR.
“Most districts can’t afford to do this,” he said. “Luckily, we can and we have the staff.”
Besides a history lesson and a presentation of what services the district provides, the open house also included water games and bouncy houses for children and firefighter demonstrations of several activities, including a dive rescue, a vehicle extrication and, of course, extinguishing a fire.
Charles and Jane Li said they saw the event posted on Facebook and decided to come out with their four children because they live nearby.
“They did a great job of keeping everyone cool (during the hot day),” Charles Li said. “And I had no idea of how big and complicated the fire district is. I’m really impressed.”
———
©2019 The Daily Southtown (Tinley Park, Ill.)
Visit The Daily Southtown (Tinley Park, Ill.) at www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/daily-southtown
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
