Fire

Department Information

The Winnetka Fire Department maintains a full-time professional staff of 25 members composed of 24 sworn fire personnel and a public safety analyst. The Department also employs four part-time fire inspectors.  

In 2022, the Department responded to 2,231 calls for service. This includes the Department's main service area of the Village of Winnetka, the Village of Kenilworth, and unincorporated Cook County, and mutual aid calls to neighboring communities.

Fire Sprinkler Ordinance

In 1977, the Winnetka Village Council passed an ordinance that required any business or multifamily occupancy that changes its occupancy use to install an automatic fire sprinkler system. A “Change of Use” is defined as any space whose proposed use is different than the previous tenant’s use based upon the International Building Code’s occupancy classifications. This ordinance has been in effect for many years. In an effort to promote economic development, the Village Council made three significant changes in 2016 to the Ordinance (MC-3-2016) (PDF).

Smart911/Winnetka Alerts

Smart911/Winnetka Alerts is a free service that allows individuals and businesses to sign up for notifications to be sent via email, text or voice message from the village, county and state authorities. This alert system will help the Village and first responders communicate real time information to you in situations involving emergencies, weather, traffic and other critical incident information. Registration for this system is required.

Create a Smart911 account and begin receiving Winnetka Alerts today!