The Parade of Lights has been attended by hundreds of residents in the past years. This is a very quiet, reverent way that we as Fire Departments can pay our respect to not only the fire fighters who have lost their lives in fires, but also to the civilians as well. Residents have commented on how impressive and beautiful this parade is. The way the emergency lights of the fire apparatus light up the night is really something to see. Last year about forty various fire fighting apparatus participated in this parade. This number continues to increase each year since the inception of the parade in 1996.

The PARADE OF LIGHTS will take place on TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2012. There will be a brief public service at Thorn Creek Church at 7:00 p.m. and the parade will begin there at 7:30pm. The address of Thorn Creek Reformed Church is 1875 E 170th Street. The parade will then wind through the streets of South Holland, Thornton and Homewood, ending at the Homewood Fire Station, 17950 Dixie Highway, in honor of Homewood Firefighter, Brian Carey, who gave the "Supreme Sacrifice" while fighting a structure fire in Homewood.

The parade route will start at Thorn Creek Church, 1875 E 170th Street in South Holland. It will head West down 170th Street to Cottage Grove Avenue, turn North to 162nd Street (Route 6), turn West to State Street, turn South to Margaret Street in Thornton, turn West and continue through to Ridge Road in Homewood, and finally turning North on Dixie highway to end at the Homewood Fire Station, 17950 Dixie Highway in Homewood.

Parade Co-coordinators Lt./Paramedic Scott Stegenga, Lt./Paramedic Ron Kalkowski, and Firefighter/Paramedic Steve Devaney hope you plan to on attending this special event. See the route map below or in The Shopper and pick your spot to watch.