On June 1, Forest Park Mayor Rory Hoskins received a letter from the Illinois Department of Labor that it had received an OSHA complaint of an alleged hazard at the Forest Park Fire Department.
According to the OSHA complaint, provided to the Review by Fire Chief Lindsey Hankus, multiple firefighters reported “respiratory complaints, skin irritation and headaches after spending 24 hours or more inside the building,” attributed to a degrading fiberglass duct liner in the HVAC system above their sleeping quarters.
The IDOL letter requested that the village investigate the conditions and provided contact information for a state consultation program, which visited the fire station July 15, assessed the complaint, and offered advice on how to mitigate it. During the visit, consultants sampled the air around the fire department and will report results to the station 30 days after the visit.
But the air quality tests didn’t include fiberglass, so Hankus is waiting for the village to approve her request for a separate air quality test that measures that. Once someone tests for fiberglass, Hankus said results will likely follow a couple weeks after. And the station may have to get new duct work.
“We’ll just cover all our bases, and in the meantime the guys aren’t sleeping up there,” Hankus said. Instead, firefighters have pulled beds into two TV rooms and an office and replace bedding when they’re on shift, like they did in the bunk room. “Everyone has a place to sleep.”
Hankus said the OSHA complaint has led to better communication within the fire department. That includes an internal complaint form, plus a Google Doc with the department’s short- and long-term projects that Hankus updates multiple times a day and has sent out access links to the department’s three shifts of firefighters.
“I don’t want anybody to feel like they can’t voice their concerns,” Hankus said.
Hankus said OSHA does station-wide safety inspections every few years. She added that the person who led the last inspection at the Forest Park Fire Department called her following the recent OSHA complaint and said he doesn’t remember there being any hazards, but that OSHA inspectors don’t usually get into the duct work. Hankus said an air duct cleaning company cleaned the bunk room HVAC system in early 2025 and the HVAC unit was likely replaced in 2022.
Firehouse repairs coming
The village has received a $1.5 million grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. Though the money won’t be delivered until next spring, it will finance a remodel of the station’s second floor — including the bunk room.
In renovating the one-room sleeping quarters, Hankus aims to create more private spaces for firefighters, especially for any future female firefighters. Hankus is currently the only female who works at the Forest Park Fire Department.
Other needs for the department include a new fire truck. Though the station has two fire engines, which carry water and hoses, it’s currently without a fire truck, equipped with a ladder to extinguish fire from high levels, plus help with ventilation and rescue efforts. Hankus said she’s ordered the new truck and is hoping it’s delivered by the end of the year.
“We’re short everything. I’m really hoping that next year we’re in a better spot with vehicles and staff,” Hankus said.
The fire department is fully staffed with 27 firefighters, a chief and deputy chief. At the end of the month, there will be 24 firefighters.
After renovating the second-floor sleeping area, offices, TV rooms and kitchen, Hankus plans to redo the downstairs, too, where the station keeps the engines and gear.
“We’re outgrowing space, so we might have to reconfigure some things. We also have to replace one of these engines soon,” Hankus said.