Orland Fire Protection District Personnel Honored for Katrina Aid
Chief and Board Commend Three Firefighters for Hurricane Relief Effort

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PHOTOS AVAILABLE
CONTACT:  Fire Chief Donald Bettenhausen / (708) 349-0074 x202
EFFECTIVE: 02-03-2006

          ORLAND PARK, ILLINOIS – The Orland Fire Protection District recently honored three of its personnel who helped with relief efforts in the hurricane ravaged Gulf Coast in September.

Battalion Chief Bryant Krizik, Lieutenant Joseph Madden and Engineer Daniel Schloegel   received Humanitarian Awards at a recent meeting of the Orland Fire Protection District Board of Trustees.

“The Orland Fire Protection District was part of the relief efforts organized by MABAS 19 (Mutual Aid Box Alarm System), of which we are a member,” said Orland Fire Chief Don Bettenhausen. Each of the participating fire service agencies has been encouraged to recognize the personnel who volunteered to help with hurricane relief efforts. “Our personnel traveled to Louisiana during the Labor Day Weekend convoy organized by MABAS 19,” Bettenhausen said, adding that more than 900 Illinois firefighters from more than 200 Illinois fire service agencies gathered in Effingham, Illinois before the massive Illinois deployment to the Gulf Coast region.

During the presentation, Krizik noted that several Orland firefighters volunteered to be a part of the relief effort but that only three could go. “Our personnel helped in a number of ways down there,” Bettenhausen explained. “They fought house fires, prairie fires, cleared roadways, delivered food and more.” One of the assignments of the Orland contingent was to help their counterparts in the Bogalusa Fire Department in Washington Parish, Louisiana.

In mid-September, the Orland Fire Protection District Board of Trustees voted to donate a used fire engine and a used truck to the Bogalusa Fire Department. “When we learned that the Bogalusa Fire Department lost some of its equipment in the hurricane, we immediately thought of the two vehicles that we had declared as surplus and have been trying to sell,” explained Orland Fire District Board President Patrick Maher. "Orland was very fortunate to be able to replace these vehicles with the help of a FEMA Grant that the fire district recently received,” Maher added. Describing the donated vehicles, Orland Fire Trustee Marty McGill said, “We had a 1975 American LaFrance Ladder Truck and a 1981 American LaFrance pumper that we had been trying to sell more than a year. It was nice to be able to donate these pieces to a town that desperately needed them.”

PHOTO #1

The Orland Fire Protection District Board of Trustees recently honored three of its personnel for their efforts to assist in the hurricane ravaged Gulf Coast region. Battalion Chief Bryant Krizik, Lieutenant Joseph Madden and Engineer Daniel Schloegel received Humanitarian Awards for volunteering to join a contingent of Illinois firefighters that traveled to areas affected by Hurricane Katrina. Pictured (l to r) are Trustee Martin McGill, Madden, President Patrick Maher, Krizik, Trustee Cynthia Nelson-Katsenes, Schloegel, Trustee Bob Cacciato, Chief Don Bettenhausen and Trustee Patty Corcoran.
 

PHOTO #2

Orland Fire District Trustee Cindy Nelson-Katsenes pins the Humanitarian Award onto the uniform of Lieutenant Joseph Madden, recognizing his efforts as part of the Orland Fire Protection District contingent that helped in the hurricane ravaged Gulf Coast region. Looking on are (l to r) Orland Fire District Board President Patrick Maher, Battalion Chief Bryant Krizik and Engineer Dan Schloegel.

PHOTO #3

Orland Fire Protection District Chief Don Bettenhausen (right) recently presented Humanitarian Awards to (l to r) Lieutenant Joseph Madden, Battalion Chief Bryant Krizik and Engineer Daniel Schloegel. In early September, the three traveled to the hurricane ravaged Gulf Coast region as part of a massive deployment of firefighters from throughout the State of Illinois.
    

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