Oak Lawn Trustee Calls Safety Meeting for Airway Residents

OAK LAWN, IL -- Two fires, four deaths and a dog mauling all within the past 34 days has heightened Oak Lawn village officials’ concerns about safety in the Airway Manufactured Housing Community. The last straw was a shocking fire on June 8, in which two men perished in the flames after both were stabbed. Their deaths were ruled homicides by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.

“Safety is a high concern of ours and has been brought to the attention of the staff at the park,” Tr. Alex Olejniczak (Dist. 2) said at Tuesday’s village board meeting. “We’re trying to set up a meeting with the owners of [Airway] to discuss those safety concerns, until we have a full confidence that the types of issues and the frequency with which they are occurring are addressed and eliminated.”

Olejniczak said that he, Mayor Sandra Bury, the police and fire chiefs, and the village manager met with Airway’s management the day after the June 8 fire.

“We went over safety issues in the park and bringing their attention our concerns and the concerns of residents,” Olejniczak said, whose second district includes the 61-year-old mobile home park. “We’re continuing to do more research … the fire chief at the last fire incident brought up more safety concerns.”

Beginning with April 30, a small dog was mauled to death by a larger dog that had reportedly strayed into the park. The Oak Lawn Fire Department responded to a fire on May 9 that killed a 64-year-old woman. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but Oak Lawn Fire Chief George Sheets said the preliminary cause seems to indicate that it may be smoking related. The next day, there was a death investigation of a resident who had reportedly died of a drug overdose. Then on June 8, the fire in which the two men died.

Olejniczak has called a public safety meeting for Airway residents this Saturday, June 17, at Oak Lawn Village Hall, 9446 S. Raymond Ave. Topics to be addressed include fire safety. The fire department is offering free smoke alarms to Airway residents. Residents will also be able to bring up other safety concerns, including criminal activity. The meeting will be attended by Olejniczak, the mayor, village manager, public works and the police and fire chiefs.

“Our job is to listen to residents that show up at the meeting and advise them in helping to make the area safer,” Olejniczak.

According to Olejniczak, police fielded over 100 calls for service between May 2016 and June 2017. Chief Sheets said the fire department has responded to 265 calls at Airway between May 2016 and June 2017. The fire chief also expressed concern about the close proximity of some of the mobile homes and narrow streets in some sections of the park. Mobile home owners and long-term guests are also required to pass criminal background checks. No convicted felons or registered sex offenders are allowed in the park.

Airway was founded in 1956 by the Bosshardt family, whose name is absent from the park’s website. Residents own their homes, but rent the lots. A letter distributed to residents by management stated that in the park’s 61-year history “only a very small number of documented fires (all of which were caused by unique, unforeseen circumstances), and zero events similar to the one that unfortunately occurred last week.”

The letter was signed by “the owners and staff of Airway Community.”