July 29 marks the 19th anniversary of Oak Park firefighter Patrick Luby’s death while fighting a basement fire in the northeast part of the village. He’s believed to be the only Oak Park firefighter to die while battling a blaze.
As such, his widow, Angela, thought it made sense to dedicate a new fire truck to Patrick Luby since the new truck was replacing his former engine. But the village is rebuffing that idea, as Oak Park’s main fire station is already named for Luby.
“It’s not like we have not honored Pat’s memory,” said Fire Chief Thomas Ebsen.
On the flipside, Angela Luby, 61, said the plaque at the main fire hall, 100 N. Euclid Ave., is hard to notice. She wasn’t looking to see Pat’s name painted in giant letters on the truck, and said the City of Chicago recently dedicated a fire engine to a fallen firefighter.
“The size of the plaque, you need binoculars to see it,” Luby said. “I just don’t understand what the big deal is, but if they don’t want to do it, I’m not going to fight ’em.”
It was in February 2010 that Oak Park ordered a new Engine 602, and the vehicle was delivered last October, according to Ebsen. The fire department formed a committee to figure out Oak Park’s needs for a new engine about a year and a half ago.
During that process, one firefighter brought up the idea of dedicating the new truck to Patrick Luby, Ebsen said. But no formal proposal was made, and there didn’t seem to be support for the idea. Oak Park doesn’t typically name vehicles after people.
“Our position is that we’ve never named apparatuses after individuals, past or present, on the department,” Ebsen said.
Stephen Rose — a 58-year-old retired Oak Park firefighter who lives in Schaumburg — thought it made sense to inscribe the new engine with his fallen coworker’s name. The approaching 10-year anniversary of 9-11 made the timing perfect, too, he added.
Rose was disappointed to hear that the memorial isn’t happening, and wrote a letter to local newspapers, voicing his disappointment (see page 23).
“He died in the line of duty. Personally, we should be memorializing and honoring our fallen heroes,” Rose said by phone, later adding. “I think it’s important to remember these guys, and it’s a very simple thing to do as far as I’m concerned.”
Patrick Luby died of carbon monoxide poisoning while battling a blaze at 544 N. Humphrey Ave., according to reports at the time. A group of firefighters was quickly on the scene of the extra-alarm fire, Wednesday Journal reported, but they were forced to leave because of intense smoke and heat. All made it out, with five treated for burns or smoke inhalation, except for Lt. Luby, whose body was found at the foot of the basement stairs.
During his funeral parade in the summer of 1992, Patrick Luby’s body was carried on a fire truck as part of his funeral procession. So why not a plaque, asked Angela Luby.
“Why not? His dead body was on it for goodness sake. It is what it is. I’m not going to stage protests or riots,” Luby said with a chuckle.