By Stephanie Irvine

The Frankfort Fire Protection District opened the doors of its firehouse to welcome the community, giving visitors a first-hand look inside one of its stations and large training facility on south LaGrange Road.

The open house events, held May 31 and June 7, were the first of its kind for the district — and something that newly minted Fire Chief Paul Kinsella wants to do more often.

Kinsella was appointed the permanent fire chief in January 2026 after serving as interim chief since March 2025.

Kinsella explained that he’s run into residents who don’t know who all the fire district serves, how large it is, or how it’s funded. When that happened, he said it was a signal to him that they needed to do more.

“We want to get the message out about who we are and what we do. It takes a lot of effort and funding to serve a community this large,” Kinsella said.

Today, the district serves roughly 43,000 people and encompasses 42 square miles, including Frankfort and Frankfort Square, Green Garden, and parts of Mokena and unincorporated areas. It has five fire stations, one of which also houses a training center.

So, Kinsella brought out the Fire Cadets to fire up the grill, and plenty of firefighters in the district were there to conduct live fire demonstrations and talk with residents. They were treated to lunch and Kona Ice snow cones, a much-enjoyed treat on a very humid day.

There were games for the kids set up all around the station, face painting, a bounce house, and of course, the doors to all of the apparatus opened up with firefighters on standby to help give the little ones help up into the big fire engines.

Laraway Communications was also set up with a table to meet residents and share some goodies.

Residents and out-of-town visitors poured into the fire station, crowding around to watch as flames shot out of a training building as firefighters showed just how quickly a dry Christmas tree will ignite — and how fast it can spread.

Lt. Zach Pavesich, who serves as the district’s Fire Marshal and Public Education facilitator, explained to the crowd why and how the flames spread, how the smoke can tell a story about the fire’s behavior, and what the firefighters were doing while they extinguished it.

“She was really engaged and really enjoyed it. I’m so glad we came out,” Apryl Spinazzola said of her six-year-old daughter, Vega.

Vega was busy jumping her heart out in the bounce castle.

“I learned a lot about fire suppression,” Tatsu Tanikawa added, explaining he got a lot out of the demonstration and found it very informative. He joined Apryl and Vega on the visit.

Later, Pavesich explained they recently started programming in the grade schools to help educate kids on fire prevention and what to do in an emergency.

“He likes to see the firetrucks, so we thought we’d come and check everything out,” Bridget Shafer said, who brought her three kids, Whitney (age 9), Isla (age 6) and Owen (age 6) to the event.

Some of the kids in attendance recognized Pavesich, or “Firefighter Zach” as they like to call him. He called the community outreach important in connecting their world with the residents, allowing them to see the district’s capabilities, specialty equipment and understand a little bit better who they are.

“My son loves fire trucks and wants to be a fireman,” Chris Greer said of his son, Colson. He also came with Alaura Frank and their two-year-old daughter, Azariah Greer.

“I saw it online and thought it would be cool. It’s been really fun for the kids and very informative. They made it fun to learn about everything,” Frank said.

Frankfort Fire Board Trustee Jim McGeever stood by, observing the residents and demonstrations.

“Training is the key to the success of the whole thing,” McGeever, a retired firefighter, said as he watched firefighters carry hose into the burning training tower during the first of two live fire demonstrations.

“We do what we can to get them what they need, and they do a fantastic job with the resources they have,” McGeever said. He’s been a trustee for the past three years.

Earlier, Kinsella pointed in the direction of the twin fire engines, which were painted black. He explained he made a move that was almost unheard of in the industry and bought used fire trucks that still had some life left in them.

“These were out of South Charleston in West Virginia. We got these both in service for about $700,000,” Kinsella said.

Fire apparatus needs to be replaced, and when it does, the cost isn’t a simple $100,000 or $200,000. It’s millions — a bit of a runaway train as costs continue to soar higher each year.

“We saved a ton of money buying them used, and we didn’t repaint them just to save some extra money,” Kinsella explained.

They recently had to replace the transmission in the ladder truck and looked into the cost for replacement. He explained the cost of a ladder truck in 2022 was $1.3 million. Replacing the same one today costs $2.1 million — double — in just a few years.

“People don’t realize what’s happening,” Kinsella said, noting it was their job to get the information out to residents, and it’s something they’re working hard at doing.

The first open house event, held at Station 71 on Nebraska Street in downtown Frankfort, was hugely successful, drawing in nearly 500 people on the holiday weekend.

“It’s community engagement for a community fire district,” Frankfort Fire Board President Nick Spano said.

“We just want to get people to come in and learn about us, so we can connect with them,” Spano added.

Though a bit more subdued than the first, the event on June 7 still brought in droves of residents. High humidity and a thunderstorm didn’t stop people from filling up the parking lot. When the downpour began, everyone stayed dry inside the large training facility, which was set up with areas for eating and learning.

“This is a community fire district,” Spano emphasized.

“We want to hear their needs, what they want it to be, so their wants and needs are heard. This was a great turnout for the second event,” Spano added.

Kinsella said this won’t be the last residents will hear from them, and he’s looking forward to what more the district will bring to the community.

Stephanie Irvine is a freelance reporter.

Frankfort Firefighter cadets wait for the cue to extinguish the burning Christmas tree inside the training building. (Photos by Stephanie Irvine)

A large crowd is gathered to watch a live fire demonstration at the Frankfort Fire Protection District as Fire Marshal Lt. Zach Pavesich narrates the action with Chief Paul Kinsella alongside him.

After extinguishing the fire in the training tower, firefighters drag hoses back out of the building.

Whitney Shafer (age 6), Isla Shafer (age 6) and brother Owen Shafer (age 6) of Mokena stop for a cool treat from Kona Ice in between exploring the fire station and watching demonstrations at the Frankfort Fire Protection District’s open house on June 7.

Giovanni Vaccaro (age 2) puts out fires with bean bags in one of the many games set up around the training facility at the Frankfort Fire Protection District’s open house June 7.