Mark Puknaitis

As Fire Chief of the Naperville Fire Department, I am proud to say that the citizens of the City of Naperville are well protected with a fire department equipped with staffing, equipment, response teams, and plans to handle the risks that have been identified within the community. The fire service has changed dramatically over the years and the City of Naperville is fortunate to have kept up with the changes. The Naperville Fire Department is an internationally accredited fire agency through the Center for Public Safety Excellence and has proven to be credible in more than 250 performance standards. The department has and continues to be a fine example of service delivery excellence in all levels and types of services that are provided. 

The title “fire department” although traditional in its term by no means is an accurate or all inclusive reflection of what our fire department provides today. The Naperville Fire Department not only responds to structure fires of all sorts, but also provides the training, staffing and response needs for hazardous material emergencies, technical rescue including structural collapse, high angle and confined space rescues. The department has its own water rescue and dive team to respond to the river and the hundreds of ponds and bodies of water located throughout the city. Our emergency medical services accounts for a majority of our work load and we are proud to service the city with eight ambulances and all other emergency vehicles that are staffed and equipped to handle advanced life support medical calls for service. All 18 front line emergency vehicles are staffed with highly cross trained members capable of responding and mobilizing to the emergency called upon.

The department also offers programs in public education and works in conjunction with the school system, hospital and senior groups and assisted living centers. The fire prevention bureau is also committed to maintaining a safe and code compliant community and offers services such as fire plan review, fire suppression system testing, and daily inspectional services.

Each member of the department must train over 200 hours per year to meet the high standards set by the State Fire Marshal’s Office as well as the Illinois Department of Public Health, OSHA and NIOSH. The department is committed to safety in all of its efforts.  Each day the message of safe practices is adhered to by each crew at each station on each shift. A firefighter’s day consists of a 24 hour shift that begins at 7:00 am and ends at 7:00 am the next day. During the course of the day, there are fire prevention, public education as well as training obligations along with the nearly 12,000 calls per year that are responded to.

The men and women of the Naperville Fire Department have and always will be committed to the highest level of service to all citizens of the community. As firefighters and paramedics, the work done is much more than a job… it’s a way of life and we are all proud to serve you in everything that we do each day.