Message from the Chief

Welcome,

On behalf of the Board of Trustees and members of the Glenside Fire Protection District, I would like to welcome you to our website. I hope this site serves as a resource of valuable information for the public we serve.  

The Glenside Fire Protection District provides quality fire and emergency medical services to the majority of the Village of Glendale Heights and Glen Ellyn Countryside. The District includes approximately 4 square miles with about 34,000 residents. The District has 18 full-time personnel, 10 part-time personnel, 2 chief officers, and 4 administrative support personnel. The District operates out of a centrally located fire station at Bloomingdale and Fullerton Avenue and responded to 2,654 emergency incidents in 2021.

Since 2009, the fire district had been rated a Public Protection Class of 3 in the Village limits and rural areas by the Insurance Services Office (ISO).  ISO’s staff collects information from over 48,000 fire protection agencies in communities throughout the United States, analyzes relevant data and assigns a Public Protection Classification (PPC) — a number from 1 to 10 (1 being the highest and best). A community’s Public Protection Classification is mainly based on three areas of a community’s fire protection capabilities: emergency communications, fire department operational capabilities, and water supply. Additionally, it includes a community risk reduction section that recognizes community efforts to reduce losses through fire prevention, public fire safety education, and fire investigation.

On January 26th, 2017, the Glenside Fire Protection District was awarded an improved Public Protection Class (PPC) rating of 2.  This now places Glenside near the top of all fire departments in the United States for our ability to respond to emergencies.  Businesses and residents may see a reduction in their insurance premiums as a result of this improved rating. The fire district recommends that homeowners and business owners mention to their property insurance carrier our ISO rating of 2 as the Class 2 rating is a significant improvement and achievement.

Glenside recently celebrated our 50th anniversary of serving Glendale Heights and the surrounding communities and we are excited that we have had the opportunity to grow and serve for over 50 years. We look forward to being a strong member of the community for now and into the future and will continue to serve while adapting to the changes that we face every day. Thank you and please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments at rcassady@glensidefire.org or call me at (630) 668-5323.

Respectfully,
Richard Cassady
Fire Chief