From the "Village of Westchester -- 1925-1975 -- Golden Jubilee", 1976.

The Westchester Fire Department ...

(Photo courtesy of Acting Fire Chief, Harry Balster)

In 1953, the Village of Maywood notified Westchester that Maywood could no longer provide fire protection for our village.  A group of civic minded citizens including Harold Reily, Frederick Murphy, William Babenzien, Paul Allison, and John Kelly, who was later replaced by Edwin True, organized a Citizens Committee to form a fire department for Westchester.

While they were being trained, the volunteers practiced on a fire engine that was borrowed from Elmwood Park.  The Westchester Firemen's Association received its charter on March 3, 1954.  Mr. Balster, Acting Fire Chief at the time of this writing, stated that the fire department consisted of seventeen men at its beginning.  They are: Harry Balster, Dan Crowley, Mike Malpier, Dan Mitchell, Otto Trulevitz, and Clarence Vandermolen.  In October of 1954, the ladies organized the Ladies Auxiliary of the Westchester Firemen's Association.

The Association took over the responsibility for fire protection from the Village of Maywood on January 1, 1955 and was certified as a volunteer fire department by the Cook County Inspection Bureau in that same year.

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Last Modified:  02/18/2005