About Us
Cicero IAFF Local #717:
Firefighters of the Town of Cicero have been serving their community (and others) for almost 140 years. The History of the Cicero Fire Department is a very complex and weaves a tail of tradition, dedication, and bravery.
Cicero is one of the oldest municipalities in the State of Illinois in the county of Cook. The current population of the Town is Approximately 109,429.
The Cicero Fire Department was created in 1867. At that time it consisted of ten Fire Houses, Hundreds of firefighters, and numerous pieces of Fire Apparatus. The Town of Cicero was 36 square miles bounded by Western, North Avenue, Harlem, and Pershing.
In 1889 the City of Chicago annexed over half of the Town of Cicero. The City of Chicago used the Cicero Fire Houses and continues to use some of them to this day (Engine 96 Truck 29 on Lake and Waller and Engine 77 Roosevelt and Komenski (recently closed)).
In 1901 the three remaining parts of Cicero; Oak Park, Berwyn, and Cicero, voted to separate. Once again other municipalities incorporated Cicero Fire Stations. The surviving Town of Cicero is now approximately six square miles.
The Fire Department of the 1900’s consisted of five Fire Stations running four Engines, two Trucks, one Squad, and two Ambulances. Manpower in the early 1900’s was over 100 Firefighters and by the mid eighties it was down to approximately 80 Firefighters. The population has continues to swell in Cicero. In the 1920’s the population was 40,000, in the 1970’s it was 60, 000 and today it is more than 109,429.
1994 brought two Firehouse closures Engine 1 (1342 50th Court) and Engine 4 (2944 Laramie). Currently the Cicero Fire Department has three Fire Stations. Three Engines and Two Trucks make up the front line defense. 64 firefighters staff the stations (16 Lieutenants, 15 Engineers, and 33 firefighters). The Fire Department Administration consists of a Fire Marshal, his two administrative aids, and five Assistant Fire Marshals.
Firefighters work on three rotating 24-hour shifts combating Fires, Hazardous Materials Incidents, Car Accidents, Technical Rescues, and numerous other types of incidents.
Here is a link to our Residency victory IAFF Local 717 v Town of Cicero, March 31, 2003 (First District Appellate Court)
