Prospect Heights Deputy Fire Chief Tim Jones candidly says he never expected to carve out a career as a firefighter. Instead, he always figured he would follow his father into the trades as a carpenter or electrician. But fate stepped in the way — and the city of Prospect Heights is better for it. With his retirement on Friday, it prompted a look back at the many ways in which he served the community.
Prospect Heights Dep. Fire Chief Tim Jones
Back in the late-1970s, Jones became interested in first aid through his involvement with Boy Scouts. That’s where he became friends with another Scout, Drew Smith, and together they would participate in the Fire Cadet program offered at Prospect High School. During Jones’ junior and senior years he would spend half days at the Mount Prospect fire station, learning from on-duty firefighters, and return to school for the rest of the day.
He — and Smith — were hooked. Together they would go on to spend their entire careers with the Prospect Heights Fire Protection District, seeing it grow from an all-volunteer force to a paid on call-department and ultimately to a full-time, staffed fire protection district.
Along the way, Jones would go from being a member of the all-volunteer department in 1982, to be promoted to lieutenant in 1989, district chief in 1992, before being promoted to deputy chief in 2000. Ultimately, he began his full time service as deputy chief, in 2001.
For more than 40 years, they have worked side by side, with Smith serving as Fire Chief and Jones as Deputy Fire Chief, until Friday, when Jones retires. Smith plans to follow in his footsteps, retiring one year from now.
Smith describes Jones’ retirement as bittersweet and a loss to the City of Prospect Heights, yet his impact will continue.
At the 1991 groundbreaking for addition to the firehouse, (L-R) Chief Donald Gould, Trustee Robert Bremner, Trustee Thomas O’Donoghue and firefighter Tim Jones.
“I have known him since 1979. We have worked together here every weekday since 2001,” Smith says. “As a resident of the city spanning four decades, Tim is well-known to many.”
He points to his many years of community involvement, outside of the firehouse. He served on the City of Prospect Heights’ Planning and Zoning Board of Appeals as well as the Prospect Heights Park District board of commissioners.
For the past 25 years, he has led the annual Secret Santa program for needy families. He also worked with the Police Association to coordinate the annual police and fire golf outing that benefits youth programs in the city.
For his part, Jones takes pride in helping the fire district expand its services, including bringing paramedic service to Prospect Heights, beginning in 1985.
“We knocked on doors to get paramedic services,” Jones says. “Prospect Heights was way behind. We couldn’t do advance life support until 1985 and would have to call in other departments on a serious call.”
Jones, second from right, with firefighters in front of a planned burn to make way for the current city hall.
In fact, paramedic ambulance service began in Prospect Heights in 1985 — after voters agreed to a tax increase to fund the new paramedic ambulance service — with two volunteer firefighter/paramedics working part-time every day. Jones was one of those first paramedics.
Jones also oversaw the renovation and addition to the firehouse in 1991, after voters approved a $1 million bond. He also managed the establishment of a temporary firehouse at the city’s public works facility after voters approved the consolidation of the fire district to include the city’s east and west sides. Jones later managed the construction of the current, permanent firehouse on Wolf Road that was completed in 2023.
One of his biggest strengths, colleagues say, is his financial guidance. Over his four decades of service, Jones worked with four different board presidents and in 1990, he began taking over bookkeeping duties for the board. They relied on Jones, they said, in keeping them mindful of their fiduciary responsibilities to the citizens of Prospect Heights.
“Tim is a problem solver. He can create solutions to problems identified by others,” Smith says. “Since 2001, he has served as deputy chief of the district. His contributions will leave a lasting effect.”
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