Homewood deputy fire chief retires after 25 years

Steve DeJong will retire from the Homewood Fire Department after more than two decades to accept a position at MABAS Illinois, the statewide mutual aid and disaster response coordinator.

“It’s a different opportunity, that I can impact the state at a different level,” DeJong said, now deputy fire chief. “For me personally, it was just kind of a good time to transition into something different.”

The Mutual Aid Box Alarm System is a grant-funded organization that coordinates responses from different fire departments to major fires, allowing neighboring municipalities to help each other.

It is also responsible for dispatching volunteer task forces for emergency response. DeJong was part of a task force that responded to Hurricane Ian, he said.

DeJong was hired by the Homewood Fire Department in November 2000. At the time, he was a member of the Indiana National Guard, having enlisted in the military at age 17, he said.

“Fire service has always been kind of paramilitary, so I think a lot of my military experience kind of formed my leadership style,” DeJong said. “There’s a lot of similarities into how we do operations, how we plan stuff.”

DeJong was deployed to Afghanistan from 2004 to 2005, and to Iraq from 2007 to 2009, according to a village news release.

“I see a lot of veterans that come into both police and fire, and a lot of it is because of the discipline, the leadership, the self-confidence,” DeJong said. “Those attributes that being part of a military service kind of provides you as an individual, and it feeds right into a public safety-type role.”

One particular event during his tenure that shaped the department going forward was the death in 2010 of 28-year-old firefighter Brian Carey.

Carey died while trying to rescue a paralyzed elderly man from a house fire. He had been with the department just two months at the time of his death.

“We lost Brian Carey in 2010. I was actually on that fire when it happened, and we knew as a department we had to make some major changes,” DeJong said. “I think we learned from that experience, and I think we have one of the best departments now in the south suburbs, as far as competency, a training program, leadership development.”

Carey’s death, the first in the line of duty for the Homewood Fire Department, led to changes in firefighting training and procedure across southern Cook County, including the construction of the Brian Carey Training Center in Homewood.

DeJong feels good about the position he’s leaving the department in, he said.

“I’ve seen this department transform,” DeJong said. “Of course it’s bittersweet. I’ve been here almost 26 years, and it’s always kind of strange to step away, but I am very confident in the department and the individuals that are here that they’re going to continue to do great things.”

Fire Chief Bob Grabowski commended DeJong’s contributions to the department in the village’s news release.

“His commitment to service, both here in our community and in the United States Army, speaks volumes about his character,” Grabowski said. “Steve has helped shape this department into what it is today, and his impact will be felt for years to come.”

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