Crime & Safety
Hinsdale Firefighters Earn Investigator Status
Firefighters attached to task force to investigate cause of fires in southwest suburbs.
Two Hinsdale firefighters are now certified fire investigators.
Tom McCarthy IV and Mike Neville completed a 120-hour course that trains firefighters in determining the cause of a fire. The course was offered through the Illinois State Fire
Marshall’s Office.
Steve Tullis, public information officer for the Hinsdale Fire Department, said having two investigators on staff is important for public safety. He said both men directed an investigation of a fire in Hinsdale earlier this year that was apparently caused by a faulty clothes dryer. Tullis said their investigation caused the company that manufactures the machined to mull over a recall.
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“In the past 20 years, we haves seen some arson fires in Hinsdale and certainly around the southwestern suburbs. Having fire investigators on the department is a valuable resource for us not only to maintain public safety, but for a variety of other reasons,” Tullis said in a press release.
Including McCarthy and Neville there are currently five certified fire investigators in the Hinsdale department. Tullis said it’s a prestigious position and he’s sure the rest of the staff of 20 firefighters would like to be a fire investigator.
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As fire investigators both men are part of the MABAS Division 10 Cause and Origin Team, which investigates fires throughout the Southwestern Suburbs. The team works wth fire departments in neighboring villages, such as Clarendon Hills, Western Springs, Tri-State and Pleasantview Fire Protection Districts. The team works together to determine the cause and origin of a variety of structure fires around the Chicagoland area.
Both McCarthy and Neville are also certified paramedics.
McCarthy is a second-generation Hinsdale Firefighter and has been with the Department for over six years. He is in charge of the department’s health and wellness program and runs the Safety Village of Hinsdale.
Neville has been a member of the Hinsdale Fire Department for more than seven years. He manages the CPR and AED classes and participates in the pre-incident fire planning.
