[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 146 (Monday, October 3, 2011)]
[House]
[Page H6488]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               LEMONT FIRE DEPARTMENT'S 125TH ANNIVERSARY

  (Mrs. BIGGERT asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Lemont 
Fire Department as it celebrates 125 years of service.
  In 1886, the town fathers of Lemont adopted an ordinance that created 
a volunteer fire department that consisted of 22 volunteers split into 
two companies: the hose company and the hook and ladder company. Since 
then, the Lemont Fire Department has grown from a handful of volunteers 
to a force of 85 fire, EMT, administrative, and support personnel. 
Every day, they protect the towns of Lemont, Darien, Bolingbrook, Homer 
Glen, and portions of Woodridge, Illinois--an area that is roughly 40 
square miles.
  In the early years of the Lemont Fire Department, the volunteers had 
to drag their firefighting equipment to the fires and brave nearly 
insurmountable odds to save their neighbors. The bravery that inspired 
those men to save their neighbors is a trait that has come to define 
the Lemont Fire Department and the men and women who serve in it.
  Mr. Speaker, the Lemont Fire Department has worked very hard to 
become a pillar of service in my congressional district. I would like 
to join my colleagues in congratulating them for 125 years of 
distinguished service.

                          ____________________