Orland, IL, Fire Chief Quits after Four Months

The Orland Fire Protection District is without a chief after Kevin Doyle resigned Feb. 13, after just four months on the job, a fire district board member confirmed Tuesday.

Doyle started in October as fire chief/administrator for the district that serves all or parts of Orland Park, Orland Hills and unincorporated Orland Township, after working as chief for the Homer Township Fire Protection District.

Board member Tina Zekich raised concerns that the fire district’s website still showed Doyle as fire chief.

“Have we even told the public?” Zekich asked other board members. “I just kind of feel like we need to be more transparent.”

Board President Beth Damas Kasper said she was open to suggestions.

“We just need to let people know,” Zekich said, noting the fire district sent an “expensive mailer” introducing him as fire chief a couple of months ago. Zekich said she did not recall how much the mailer cost.

Board member Angela Greenfield said Doyle’s photo should be removed from the website. Doyle’s name and photo were removed from the website as of Wednesday afternoon.

Zekich also asked whether the board had begun searching for a new fire chief. Damas Kasper said she planned to discuss priorities for Doyle’s replacement during a closed session.

“We’re going to talk about options that we have, what we’re looking for, money, contracts, all that,” Damas Kasper said.

Damas Kasper declined to be interviewed after the meeting, saying the district can handle its own statement.

“Our biggest concern is always just the transparency,” Zekich said. “It’s already been over 10 days, and no word to the public.”

Orland Professional Firefighters Local 2754 union Vice President Dave Popp provided a statement on behalf of the union that “the district should be transparent and forthright in its communication with residents on important issues, particularly those that impact leadership, policy direction and public safety.”

“During any leadership transition, clarity and openness are essential to maintaining confidence among both our members and the community we serve,” the statement said. “Our union remains committed to constructive engagement and encourages ongoing communication that keeps residents informed and reassured.”

Meanwhile, the union continues to raise concerns about the fire district’s ability to respond to an increasing number of calls since an ambulance went offline in June. Doyle told the Daily Southtown last month the additional ambulance was not needed.

Union President Dan Fagan, an Orland Park firefighter, said the district daily finds it’s down to one or no ambulances, requiring them to seek backup from outside communities.

The union wrote in a social media post that within in the first 26 days of the year, the Orland Fire Protection District requested out-of-town ambulances to assist them 16 times. Within one of those days, the firefighters requested out-of-town ambulances to assist them seven times.

“That doesn’t mean that’s the only time that the town is at risk,” Fagan said. “When we’re down to one ambulance, that means we have one ambulance for the next major call that comes in, with 175,000 people in town.”

Fagan said that estimate includes people in the area during the day, such as for work.

Fagan said he warned the board for about five years that projected area growth requires increased services. He said the nearly 230,000-square-foot Amazon retail center planned for the already busy 159th Street and LaGrange Road intersection will boost the number of calls the fire district receives.

Doyle said these concerns were exaggerated, based on his interpretation of call data. He said during the 24-hour period mentioned in the union’s Facebook post, the Orland Fire Protection District requested out-of-town ambulances to back them up six times, not seven, and only one of those ambulances was sent on a call.

He explained the high number of backup ambulances requested resulted from firefighters receiving physical examinations, which are all coordinated within a 10-day period.

He also said the Orland Fire Protection District, as common practice, calls for outside assistance more quickly than many other fire districts.

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