Department History

Wood Hill VFD
In 1960-61 a small subdivision was formed in unincorporated Will County and was named the Wood Hill Subdivision. Three of the early initial homeowners, Red Black, James Burt, and Kenny Gibbons got together and decided that the area needed fire protection. They formed the Wood Hill Volunteer Fire Department. All were former members of area fire departments and were able to lease a 1926 Seagrave fire engine that was no longer being used by the Hazel Crest Fire Department. Additionally they were able to obtain space in an old World War II quonset hut on Exchange Street, a gravel road at that time. The building was used as storage for the builder and was the only building that could hold the truck. It was located just west of the base of the water tower. The curb cuts remain for the gravel driveway that went around the “new” fire station. Several more residents joined the department and fundraising began. Used equipment including; rubber coats, helmets, boots and hoses were borrowed or purchased from other area departments' out-of-service equipment stocks.

Park Forest South Fire Department
In 1966 and 1967 a new builder, Nathan Manilow, emerged and had great plans for the area. The residents joined in his vision and incorporated the community as Park Forest South. The Wood Hill subdivision then consisted of approximately 300 homes with a population of about 1,000 people, spread between Exchange, Irving, Blackhawk, and Western. The builder was concerned with the market image and decided the 1928 fire engine and some of the old second and third hand equipment the department had, needed improvement. A deal was struck and the first new fire apparatus, a 1969 Ward-LaFrance fire engine, was ordered. The Fireman’s Association that did the fundraising for the department set up a loan to pay $1,000 per year for the $15,000 engine. The builder then made an annual donation of equipment of $1,000 per year. This fire engine was finally taken out of service in 2000 after 30 years of service. In 1969 the fire department decided to turn itself over to the Village so that additional funds over what could be raised by the volunteers could be obtained from the Village taxes. In 1970, building was occurring at a rapid rate and with the annexation of additional land to the Village, the requirement for a more modern, higher capacity fire engine, resulted in another deal with the builder purchasing a 1972 American Fire Apparatus fire engine. This unit is now in reserve with the department. Also, in 1970 the department began ambulance service. Previously “Inhalator Calls” were run with a truck that had Oxygen tanks and was manned by personnel trained in first aid, who provided initial assistance at accident scenes and on house calls while awaiting private ambulances operated by, local funeral homes to arrive and transport the patients to the hospital.

The original fire department was manned solely by volunteers. There was a Ladies Auxiliary that provided additional fund raising assistance and would also bring refreshments to some of the longer, more involved fires. The Ladies group were mainly wives of the older and girlfriends of the younger firemen. The firedepartment membership consisted of about 12 – 18 men in the early years. With the new rapid growth of the community more men were interested in joining the department and the roster grew to between 30 – 40 men. The rapid growth also added new requirements and more complexity than the group was able to handle so a full-time professional Fire Chief was sought. Irvin Sherry from Franklin Park was hired as the first paid Chief. He succeeded the prior volunteer Fire Chiefs, which included Red Black, Frank Fouts, Noble Johnson, and James Geil. In 1975 Chief Sherry left Park Forest South to pursue a job with the Leyden Township Fire Department and Michael Grubermann who had been a member from the early 1967 “Wood Hill Days” was appointed to succeed Chief Sherry. Mike retired as Fire Chief in 1995 after 20 years of dedicated service and still serves as paid-on-call Fire Marshal.

University Park Fire Department
In 1984 the Village changed its name to; University Park. The idea at the time was to give the town a distinct identity separate from the Village of Park Forest to the north, which was also developed by Nathan Manilow. The origin of the name was derived from Governors State University, which is located within the corporate limits. The fire department logo was changed with the name change and remained unchanged until 2003.

In 2003, members of the full time staff who were looking to change the department logo to a more traditional, design approached the Fire Chief and the Maltese Cross was chosen. The origins of the cross go back to the Knights of St. John who fought the Saracens for possession of the Holy Land. As the crusaders advanced on the Holy Land, the Saracens pelted the Knights with glass bombs full of naphtha. They then threw down flaming torches that caused many of the Knights to be badly burned. Many other Knights risked their lives to rescue those who had been burned and they were recognized by their fellow crusaders with a badge of honor similar to the cross that the firefighters wear today. Since the Knights of St. John lived nearly four centuries on the island of Malta, in the Mediterranean Sea, the cross came to be known as the Maltese Cross. The firefighter who wears this cross is willing to lay down his life for others, just as the crusaders sacrificed their lives for their fellow man so many years ago.

Over the years many things have changed within our department and in the fire service as a whole. While our name and color of our vehicles have changed and the fire service, in general, has more responsibilities than ever, we remain dedicated and committed to protect the citizens we serve from the ravages of fire, effects of hazardous materials, and to provide the highest level of pre-hospital care during medical emergencies.

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