Jack Fitzpatrick

"Firefighting is a family affair for North Rose Fire Chief Jack Fitzpatrick, who has served as chief for six years and has been a member of the North Rose Fire Department since 2009.

'My uncle retired from the Geneva Fire Department and my grandfathers served in military fire departments,' said Fitzpatrick when describing how firefighting runs in his family.

Fitzpatrick, a 2000 graduate of Lyons High School, relocated to North Rose in 2008 with his wife Trisha and their children Alex, now 25, and Cheyanne, now 23.

'When we moved to North Rose, my wife Trisha joined a month before I did. She recommended I join,' said Fitzpatrick when asked what led him to join the North Rose Fire Department.

In the approximately 17 years since joining the department, Fitzpatrick said his two children have followed him into volunteering their time and effort with the agency.

'My granddaughter is 4 and already she wants to join,' Fitzpatrick added. 'A lot of the people I'm in the service with are second-generation firefighters; we even have third and fourth generation firefighters.'

Fitzpatrick said the most rewarding part of serving as a firefighter with the North Rose Fire Department is 'to help when needed.' However, when asked the most challenging part of being a firefighter, Fitzpatrick gave two answers: 'The most challenging part is the nature of some of the calls, but the training that's involved is also a challenge. You put a lot of hours in.' Ultimately, Fitzpatrick said that firefighting is 'absolutely something I recommend.'"