131 years. Six stations. 114 firefighter-paramedics. One of 122 fire departments in the United States to hold both ISO Class 1 and full international accreditation simultaneously. And completely, legally, structurally separate from the Village of Orland Park.
Most people in Orland Park assume the fire department is run by the village — the same way the police department, public works, and village hall are run by the village. That assumption is wrong.
The Orland Fire Protection District (OFPD) is a completely separate unit of local government. It has its own elected board of trustees, its own property tax levy, its own chief, its own budget, and its own legal authority. The mayor of Orland Park has no authority over the fire department. The village board cannot hire or fire the fire chief. Village Hall does not control OFPD's budget by a single dollar.
This is not unusual — Illinois has hundreds of independent fire protection districts, a structure dating to the early 20th century when rural areas needed fire service before they had formal village governments. What makes Orland Park's situation notable is that the distinction matters politically: because OFPD has its own elected trustees, it has been a separate arena for political contests — including a documented attempt by former Mayor Pekau to interfere in OFPD trustee elections. More on that below.
The practical question most residents care about: When you call 911 for a fire or medical emergency, it's OFPD that responds. When your property tax bill arrives, a portion goes to OFPD on a completely separate line from the village's portion. You elect OFPD trustees on the same ballot as village officials, but they are different races for different governments.
A volunteer fire department flag has survived from 1894 — the oldest known artifact of organized fire protection in Orland Park. For decades, the men who answered the alarm were the same men who ran the feed store, sat behind the barber's chair, and served on the village board. The fire chief and the village constable were sometimes the same person. That era ended slowly, then all at once.
The pivot from a volunteer squad to a professional fire-rescue district took about 35 years — from the formal organization of the Orland Rural Fire Department in 1935 to the creation of the independent Orland Fire Protection District by referendum in 1969. The architect of that transformation was Arthur Granat Sr., who served as chief for 29 years and left behind an institution that his successors would build into one of the most credentialed fire departments in the United States.
ISO Class 1 is assigned by the Insurance Services Office, which evaluates fire departments on their water supply, communications, staffing, training, equipment, and response times. The rating directly affects property insurance premiums — homes and businesses in communities with better-rated fire departments pay lower insurance rates. Class 1 is the maximum achievable score. Fewer than 3% of U.S. fire departments hold it.
CFAI/CPSE International Accreditation is awarded by the Commission on Fire Accreditation International and the Center for Public Safety Excellence. It requires a department to conduct a comprehensive self-assessment against 249 performance indicators, submit to a peer review panel, and demonstrate continuous improvement practices. Accreditation must be renewed every five years. It is, in the fire service, the equivalent of a hospital earning Joint Commission accreditation. 318 agencies worldwide hold it.
Holding both simultaneously is not automatic — a department can be ISO Class 1 without CFAI accreditation, and vice versa. OFPD has earned both and maintained both through multiple review cycles. This level of institutional performance is the result of decades of investment, training, documentation, and leadership continuity.
OFPD's six stations are positioned to achieve rapid response across the full 33-square-mile service area, including both Orland Park and Orland Hills. Each station houses apparatus and career crew on a 24/7 staffing model. The station network has expanded in parallel with village annexation — as Orland Park grew south and west, OFPD added stations to maintain response time standards.
| Station | Address | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9790 W. 151st Street, Orland Park | District headquarters · Administrative offices · OFPD Board meetings |
| 2 | 15100 S. 80th Avenue, Orland Park | Southwest coverage · Serves newer residential developments |
| 3 | 15101 Wolf Road, Orland Park | Wolf Road corridor · LaGrange Road commercial zone coverage |
| 4 | 16515 S. 94th Avenue, Orland Park | Serves Orland Hills · Southern boundary coverage |
| 5 | 8851 W. 143rd Street, Orland Park | Northeast coverage · LaGrange Road / 143rd corridor |
| 6 | 17640 Wolf Road, Orland Park | Far south coverage · New development areas |
Because the Orland Fire Protection District has its own elected trustees, it has its own election cycle — separate from village elections. Fire district trustee races are low-turnout affairs that most residents barely notice. This relative obscurity made them a target.
In 2021, as fire district trustee candidates were canvassing residential neighborhoods, then-Mayor Keith Pekau — who, as village mayor, had zero legal authority over OFPD — drove through those same neighborhoods in his personal gray Dodge Durango, following the candidates door-to-door while they knocked on residents' doors. Village Trustee Sean Kampas rode with him.
This was not a criminal act. It was not illegal. It was the village mayor of a separate government using his presence and office to monitor — and presumably intimidate — candidates for a completely different governmental body over which he had no jurisdiction.
The image of a sitting mayor, in his truck, trailing fire district candidates through residential streets, became one of the defining anecdotes of the Pekau era's governing style — a pattern that critics characterized as reflexive control-seeking beyond the boundaries of his office. It was documented and later cited in the narrative of how Pekau's approach to power contributed to his eventual defeat in 2025.
The fire district's independence from village politics is, in this context, a feature, not a bug. The 1969 referendum that created OFPD as an independent entity was a deliberate choice by voters to separate fire protection from the political pressures that could affect village government. The Durango incident demonstrates why that structural choice continues to matter more than half a century later.
The Dodge administration, which took office in May 2025, has no documented interest in the fire district's operations beyond the normal intergovernmental coordination that any neighboring governments maintain. Mayor Dodge, who spent 36 years in village government as clerk, trustee, and now mayor, has not indicated any intention to intrude on OFPD's independence.
OFPD Headquarters: 9790 W. 151st Street, Orland Park, IL 60462 · (708) 349-0074 · ofpd.org
Emergency: Call 911. OFPD operates 24/7 with a minimum daily deployment of 5 ALS ambulance crews, 4 engine companies, and 2 truck companies. All career firefighters are cross-trained paramedics.
Non-Emergency / Administrative: (708) 349-0074 during business hours. The OFPD administrative offices at Station 1 handle permits, records requests, and public inquiries.
Governing Board: OFPD is governed by a five-member elected Board of Trustees. Trustees are elected in consolidated elections held every April. Terms are four years. Board meetings are open to the public and listed on ofpd.org. This is the board that hires and fires the fire chief, approves the budget, and sets department policy. The village mayor and village board have no role in these decisions.
Your tax bill: The OFPD property tax levy appears as a separate line item on Cook County property tax bills. It is distinct from the Village of Orland Park's levy, the school district levies, the park district levy, and every other taxing body. If you have questions about the OFPD levy rate, contact the Cook County Assessor's Office or OFPD directly.