East Dundee Fire Department Established In 1890
History Lesson
The East Dundee Fire Department was established in 1890. In the early days of the department, there were not "Fire Chiefs" but rather "Fire Marshals". In 1922, Max Freeman became our first official Fire Chief. Max served as Chief until 1964, and our "Fireman's Park" was named "Max Freeman Park" in his honor.
In 1964, Gene Rakow, became our second Fire Chief. Gene was responsible for creating a "New Era" in the East Dundee fire service. East Dundee had one of the very first and only Advanced Life Support ambulances in the area. We had several Paramedics and began serving our community with the best equipment and technology available. Gene didn't stop there, he began the 1980's with the certified fire-fighter program training recruits and his present staff in the latest techniques. Gene retired from the department in 1986.
Former Fire Chief Gene Rakow
In 1986, Mark Rakow, was officially sworn in as Fire Chief of East Dundee. Mark actually joined the department in 1971 as a firefighter, and was promoted to Lieutenant in 1980. Today, our department is a combination of full time and part time employee's that man our two fire stations 24 hours a day, seven days a week. All our Firefighters are State Certified at a minimum Level II, and must also be State Certified as a Paramedic or EMT. Our Fire District is approximately 10.5 square miles in size, averages over 1200 calls per year, and covers a population of 4500 people. We serve the following communities: Village of East Dundee, South Barrington, Barrington Hills, unincorporated Kane & Cook Counties.
BOARD OF TRUSTEES PAST MEMBERS
Max Freeman
Raymond Geister
Russell Buhrmann
Richard Braasch
Steve Schmitendorf