Mokena Fire Protection District Meeting | August 2025

The Mokena Fire Protection District Board of Trustees on Tuesday, August 12, 2025, focused on fleet management, approving the final payment for a new ambulance while also addressing over $18,000 in necessary repairs and overruns. The district is preparing to place the new 2025 Freightliner remounted ambulance into service by the end of the month. The board also approved a new $5,500 annual inventory system to modernize its operations. For more information, see our full-length stories.

In other business, Fire Chief Joe Cirelli reported that the district is processing 11 applications for a vacant firefighter/paramedic position and detailed two recent drone deployments.

Monthly Bills Approved: The board unanimously approved the payment of monthly bills totaling $266,968.36. The motion was made by Trustee Robert Hennessy and seconded by Trustee Craig Warning.

Community Engagement: Trustee Ken Blank publicly thanked the fire district for its participation in the Village of Mokena’s National Night Out. Chief Joe Cirelli added that the event was a “huge success” and also noted a well-attended softball game played between Mokena firefighters and police officers before the Lion’s Firecracker Fest.

Station Repairs: The board was updated on two recent no-cost or low-cost facility repairs. J&K Painting repainted the faded marquee sign and safety bollards at Station 3 with a more UV-resistant paint at no cost to the district. At Station 1, Normal Plumbing repaired a cracked copper water line for the front sillcock faucet for an approximate cost of $750.

Personnel Training Approved: Trustees approved class requests for three staff members to pursue further professional development. The approved courses were Fire Department Incident Safety Officer for Timothy Boomsma, Fire Apparatus Engineer for Michael Biniak, and Child Passenger Safety Technician for Rebecca Duffy.

Thank You Card Received: The board was informed that the Guendling family sent a card to the department thanking firefighters for planting and maintaining the tree located behind Fire Station 1.