Three members of the Orland Fire Protection District were honored on Tuesday (9-23-25), receiving the MABAS Humanitarian Award for serving on a state Task Force sent to help Texas residents who were the victims of major flooding last July.
The Fire District also received a MABAS award along with the three firefighters, who were among 40 first responders dispatched to Texas as a part of the Illinois Task Force One response to the July 4, 2025 floods. More than 135 people were killed, and at least 117 died in Texas during the flooding. The flooding was caused by a mesoscale convective vortex with enhanced tropical moisture from the remnants of Tropical Storm Barry, a short-lived Atlantic tropical cyclone, and remnant tropical moisture from the eastern Pacific. Firefighters honored were Lt. Mark Hogan, Lt. Dan Ritchie and Lt. Zachary Zweizig, who each received the MABAS Humanitarian Award and the Decoration Humanitarian Service Medal.
