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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives wish to congratulate the Bloomington Fire
4Department on the 150th anniversary of their official founding;
5and
 
6    WHEREAS, In 1850, the City of Bloomington recognized the
7need for a "fire warden", someone who would inspect each
8building that used a fire inside; in December of 1855, the
9city's first engine, a hand pump, arrived; the city's first
10steam engine was purchased in 1867, and, at that point, it
11became necessary to have someone on duty at all times to keep
12it ready in case of a fire; and
 
13    WHEREAS, On June 19, 1868, the city passed an ordinance
14officially forming the Bloomington Fire Department; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Three years later in 1871, the Bloomington Fire
16Department was one of the departments that responded to the
17call to help fight the Great Chicago Fire; and
 
18    WHEREAS, M.X. (Marion) Chase is one of the most significant
19individuals in the history of the Bloomington Fire Department;
20he served the city of Bloomington for 32 years - 21 of those as
21chief; he nurtured the department from its early days, taking

 

 

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1it from buckets and ladders, to organizing its volunteers and
2on to a fully-manned, fully-paid department in 1888; and
 
3    WHEREAS, On December 11, 1911, the department purchased its
4first motorized apparatus; the department was fully motorized
5by 1916; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Today, members of the Bloomington Fire Department
7use the latest methods and modern equipment and training to
8fight fires; the department presently has five stations and 119
9full-time paid firefighter positions; therefore, be it
 
10    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
11HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
12congratulate the Bloomington Fire Department on the 150th
13anniversary of their official founding, and we wish them many
14more successful years; and be it further
 
15    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
16presented to the Bloomington Fire Department as a symbol of our
17respect and esteem.