The next time the Forest Park Fire Department needs to carve ventilation holes in roofs and walls during structure fires, they’ll use battery-powered chainsaws instead of gas ones.
“Cutting a hole in a roof during a structure fire is referred to as vertical ventilation,” Fire Chief Lindsey Hankus told the Review. “This is to lift toxic superheated gas from the structure to make the inside of the structure survivable.”
The new power tools are funded by ComEd and the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus’ 2025 Powering Safe Communities grant, which awarded $165,000 to 23 projects in northern Illinois communities. The grants aim to improve public safety and sustainability in these areas.
Grant recipients match ComEd’s contribution with their own funding of equal or greater value. Hankus told the Review that the village was originally quoted $3,478 for the two chainsaws and now only has to pay $1,739.
Hankus said it’s been a few years since the fire department replaced its gas chainsaws, which require more service and upkeep.
“Battery-powered saws are easier to maintain and work in smoky conditions,” Hankus said.
“By supporting these impactful projects, we help build safer, more resilient communities. These grants help launch projects that provide real benefits to our customers and communities,” said Melissa Washington, senior vice president of customer operations and strategic initiatives at ComEd, in a statement. ComEd has partnered with the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, a council for Chicago area elected officials, since 2015 to award the Powering Safe Communities grants annually.
“The Powering Safe Communities Program is a powerful example of how collaboration can drive meaningful change at the local level,” said Neil James, executive director of the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, in a statement. “We are proud to continue our partnership with ComEd to support innovative, community-centered projects that enhance public safety and advance clean energy goals.”
This is the only grant the Forest Park Fire Department has received this year. The fire department applied for FEMA’s Assistance to Firefighters grant for new air packs but doesn’t yet know if they’ve been awarded it.
In February, the village applied for the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal’s Fire Station Rehabilitation and Construction grant to remodel the fire station’s bunk room but did not receive that grant.
Hankus said the village also was not awarded the Firehouse Subs Foundation grant for mechanical CPR equipment or the Illinois Department of Public Health’s EMS Assistance Grant for EMS bags.
In March, the village council authorized spending $7,525 for Smith Architecture to create a project scope and drawings for the bunkroom renovation. Hankus said she was contacted by Smith Architecture last week to review the station’s second-floor plans.
“In addition to grants, we are always interested in receiving any sort of money for the Forest Park Fire Department,” Hankus said.
