Pictured are (from left) Mark Rosandich, CTFPD Trustee; Tim Miller, President of the CTFPD Board of Trustees; Robert Zimmerman, CTFPD Trustee; Patty Zuccarello, Dean, Prairie State College; Jeffrey Panega, Chief, CTFPD
CHICAGO HEIGHTS–(ENEWSPF)–October 17, 2016. Crete Township Fire Protection District (CTFPD) recently presented the Prairie State College (PSC) Fire Science program with one of their retiring engines.
Engine 152 was purchased in 1981, and has served Crete Township for more than 35 years. The college plans to use the engine in their Basic Operations Firefighter and Fire Apparatus Engineer courses.
“The college’s Fire Science program works very closely with area departments and training officers to ensure that students have a clear pathway from application at the fire department, through the first day of class, and through their careers in the fire service,” said Patty Zuccarello, dean of Allied Health and Emergency Services at PSC.
Recently, the CTFPD Board of Trustees declared the engine a surplus, which opened up an opportunity for PSC. CTFPD Fire Chief Jeff Panega, who is a PSC fire science program graduate, started his career working with Engine 152 in 1987. He said he wanted to put it to good use, so he worked with Zuccarello to provide the engine to the college in exchange for continued educational opportunities for students in the fire science program at PSC.
“Education is very important to everyone at Crete Township, especially for the trustees of the district,” said Chief Panega. “Because of the partnership between CTFPD and PSC, Engine 152 will be a resource for new and upcoming firefighter students at the college for years to come,” he said.
Engine 152 will be housed in the Transportation, Warehousing, and Logistics building, and used as a tool to teach fire science courses.
To find out more about the Fire Science program at PSC, contact Zuccarello at (708) 709-2947 or email [email protected].
Source: http://prairiestate.edu
