Retirement ceremony and walk-out for Prospect Heights Fire District Chief Donald Gould, Jr.
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
From the phfire.com:
At the Mayor’s Breakfast held Saturday, April 30th, Mayor Helmer presented Chief Gould with the PROSPECT HEIGHTS LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT award for his 49 years of service to the city as a member of the fire department.
Highlights of Chief Gould’s service with the Prospect Heights Fire Protection District include:
• Started in 1967 as volunteer firefighter cadet when in high school
• Attended Oklahoma State University’s School of Fire Protection
• Rose through the ranks as firefighter, lieutenant, captain, and assistant fire chief
• Appointed as the fire chief in 1988
• Hired as first full-time employee of the fire district in 2000
• Hired the first full-time staff in 2001
• Instrumental in starting paramedic service for Prospect Heights in 1985
• Remodeled and expanded the main fire station in 1991
• Opened the east-side fire station in 2006
• Obtained over $1,800,000 in federal and state grants
• Modernized the entire fleet of vehicles to include the purchase and replacement of ambulances and fire trucks
• Has maintained a healthy, financially sound organization with limited debt and a balanced budget for the past 27 years
• Currently maintains 9 firefighters on duty 24/7/365Congratulations Chief Gould!
thanks Dan
Excerpts from the DailyHerald.com:
Residents in parts of Mount Prospect and Prospect Heights can expect quicker responses to emergencies after the two communities’ fire departments set aside long-standing differences this week to forge a new mutual aid agreement.
The deal, ratified this week by the Mount Prospect village board and Prospect Heights Fire Protection District, is the first between the two in five years. Such deals lay out when and where one department would respond to an emergency in the other’s jurisdiction.
“There was, I guess you would say, a difference of opinion,” Prospect Heights Fire Chief Donald Gould said. “We withdrew from the (previous) agreement, and now there is some new administration.”
The key point of dispute over the years, Gould said, concerned what part of each community an agreement should cover and he said the new agreement should mean faster response times.
“Some of the area of Mount Prospect is actually almost right across the street from our fire station (at Camp McDonald and Route 83),” he said.
Mount Prospect Fire Chief Brian Lambel told the village board Tuesday that he began reviewing agreements with neighboring communities when he took over as interim chief last summer. Since then, department representatives have met with the Elk Grove, Elk Grove Township, Des Plaines and Prospect Heights departments.
Lambel said that one area where he believed improved coverage is needed is the north side of the village, which borders Prospect Heights.
The new agreement came about after regular meetings between Mount Prospect Deputy Chief John Dolan and Prospect Heights Deputy Chief Drew Smith. Those laid the groundwork for Mount Prospect firefighters joining their peers from Prospect Heights and Arlington Heights in training exercises, and ultimately the aid agreement.
The deal is expected to improve fire response in neighborhoods near Camp McDonald and Elmhurst roads, as well as between Wolf and River roads, north of Kensington Road.
The Journal-Topics.com has an article about two districts discussing a land swap:
A plan to disconnect 25 homes from the Prospect Heights Fire Protection District territory is part of a larger land swap deal in the works, the Journal & Topics has learned.
Two public hearings are planned for October regarding a proposal to turn the homes over to Northbrook Rural Fire District control. In return, the Prospect Heights Fire Protection District would add to its tax rolls property along Sanders Road south of Willow now in Northbrook Rural’s coverage area, according to Prospect Hts. Fire Chief Donald Gould.
City officials, however, still have their eye on one day redeveloping close to 30 acres of land south of Willow owned by Allstate Insurance. Allstate’s headquarters are across Sanders Road in unincorporated Northbrook. As part of the land swap, Northbrook Rural would take control of nearly 25 properties in the Forest View Estates subdivision east of Portwine Road north of Dundee.
An apartment development was proposed on eight acres along Sanders late last year, but was rejected by the city after much debate. Gould said the two districts have been in talks about the land swap for almost 10 years — talks that finally came to a head when the apartment plan surfaced. He said most calls to Forest View are ambulance requests already handled by Northbrook due to mutual-aid agreements in place. Prospect Heights would still respond to fires in the nearby Cook County Forest Preserve. Gould said Prospect Heights has maintained control of the area north of Dundee along Portwine since the early 1990s after the consolidation of the former Palwaukee Area and Wheeling Rural fire districts.
The public hearings will be held at 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 9 and 8 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 21 at fire stations in Northbrook and Prospect Heights respectively.
thanks Dan
For the finest department portraits and composites contact Tim Olk or Larry Shapiro.
