Fire Dist to commemorate 25 year since passing of William Bonnar Sr

Fire Dist to commemorate 25 year since passing of William Bonnar Sr

The Orland Fire Protection District (OFPD) will host a Commemoration Saturday, February 25 to honor the legacy and contributions of the late Battalion Chief and EMS Chief William Bonnar Sr. who died in 1998. The event will be held at the OFPD Admin Building, 9790 W. 151st Street beginning at 8:30 AM.

A fulltime paramedic for the Chicago Fire Department in the early 1970s, Bonnar joined the then volunteer Orland Fire Protection District in 1972 and is considered one of the key founders of the modern day Orland Fire Protection District.

OFPD Fire Chief Michael Schofield credited Bonnar with making the district what it is today, recognized with the nation's highest cardiac arrest "save rate" and also modernizing it to be an icon for districts around the country.

"Bill was the father of the Union. He organized the union and got our first contract. He was our director of EMS when I started as a cadet in 1977," Schofield said.

"What Bill wanted was the best treatment and the best paramedics for Orland. That was his passion. Always do your best. Always have the best equipment. Always have the best EMS. He expected nothing less than 100 percent from everyone who worked here. He trained hard just like his guys trained. And it shows today."

Schofield who rose in the ranks to become Fire Chief in 2015, said that Bonnar had the experience that he instilled in everyone as the Orland Fire District grew. Bonnar was one of the first group of paramedics hired by the City of Chicago Fire Department in 1975.

"William Bonnar brought a lot of that experience and a lot of knowledge and experience with him to the Orland Fire District," Schofield said.

"William Bonnar was one of the founding fulltime members that created the structure and system that is today's Orland Fire Protection District. It was a small group of EMS back then. But today we are one of the best in the country and we are very proud of that. We do much to share what we have learned with other fire departments and fire districts."

Bonnar's son, William Bonnar Jr., was inspired by his father's work and gave up another more lucractive profession to dedicate his life to saving lives in the Orland Fire Protection District.

"My father was instrumental in forging today's Fire District," Bonnar Jr said.

Bonnar Jr. became a cadet in 1976 and in 1978 served on call as a paid EMS volunteer. The First District expanded in 1980 when they opened their second fire house when he was 20 years old. He said his father was moved following a car crash in which several Sandburg High school students were injured to push to make the Orland Fire Protection District better equipped and trained.

"My father was one of the original paramedics. He joined the volunteer fire department in 1972. I was proud to work alongside with him," Bonnar Jr. said.

"I remember there was a bad crash involving students from Sandburg High School were injured. My father was upset they couldn't do more for the injured because they didn't have more training. So, he went into EMT school and at that time he was working nighttime security at Palos Hospital. He was an EMT and really liked it and then went into the paramedic class at Ingles."

Bonnar Jr., noted, "In 1980 he was promoted to lieutenant and then got involved with EMS and became the coordinator and he pushed for all kinds of equipment and training. Paramedics took tests in Chicago in other regions but they used to say you were not a paramedic until you passed Bonnar's tests. He did an extra training program to make sure the paramedics who worked for Orland did everything that they were supposed to do. He is credited with building up that whole EMS division to ensure everything that needed to be done was done, and it was done with the highest professionalism."

Bonnar Senior also embraced all kinds of new techniques and strategies to improve EMS and safety, his son said.

"On the Fire end, he was a Lieutenant, and then a Battalion Chief and he was consistently finding ways to make the Fire district better than it was," Bonnar Jr. added.

"Chicago had a separation between paramedic and firefighters. In Orland, you were both a firefighter and a paramedic. It was more cost effective for the taxpayers to have firefighter/medics because you had all avenues of fire rescue covered."

The Fire District's population has grown significantly since then from 2,500 people to nearly 75,000 people today in the district which includes Orland Park, Orland Hills, unincorporated areas of Orland Township.

The Orland Fire Protection District commemoration for William Bonnar Senior will be held on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023, beginning at 8:30 AM at OFPD Admin Building at 9790 W. 151st Street.

-- Press Release