Block Parties

Block parties are a popular activity throughout Palatine every summer. The Palatine Fire Department is glad to be invited to these events and meet our residents in a relaxed, informal (and non-emergency!) setting. If you want to invite the Fire Department to your next block party, follow these guidelines:

Fire Department Attendance

First, you’ll need a block party permit from the Village of Palatine. Once you’ve obtained an approved permit, call our office at 847-202-6340 to schedule our attendance. We have the firefighters from whichever station would respond to the location of the party attend. Typically, the crews from that station will come out for about 45 minutes to one hour. This gives us the opportunity to meet the residents, show our equipment, answer questions, and in general get to know the people of the district. We try to attend at the time requested, but understand that these crews are in service, and that emergency calls are our top priority. Therefore, we might be late, have to leave early, or in some cases might not make it at all. There are also several weekends each year with a lot of block parties; we schedule them on a first-come, first-served basis so call early. We only have so many slots available each weekend and there is the possibility that we might not be able to make a party due to other events already scheduled.

Educating Children

We also ask that parents be available to help watch the kids. Of course, having fire equipment show up is a big draw for the younger ones, but we usually only have three personnel on a fire rig. This can make it tough to keep an eye on all the kids if they are on all sides of the vehicle. If we get a call during the party and have to respond, it also makes it much easier and safer getting out if parents are immediately available to take charge of the children.

We thank you for considering inviting us to your block party. We hope to see you there. Have a great summer, and stay safe!