Carbondale Reporter

House Rep. Dave Severin (R-Marion) wants to honor a fallen firefighter by renaming a stretch of Illinois Route 148 near Christopher in his honor.

“(Kody Vanfossan) died doing what he loved while battling a six-alarm commercial fire in Christopher, Ill., with his father who’s a CFD captain,” Severin said from the House floor on April 8. “They were the first ones on the scene and performed a primary search of the first floor. After completing the search and knocking down the fire they proceeded to the second floor. During this time, conditions deteriorated rapidly. As Kody and his dad were making their way out of the building, a stairway collapsed trapping them in the building. Kody’s dad made it out. Kody did not.”

HJR87 was introduced on March 29 by Severin. It passed unanimously in the House with 111 yes votes.

The governing document asks that a stretch of Route 148 is dubbed The Firefighter Kody M. Vanfossan Memorial Highway. 

“For those brave men and women that give us the last full measure of their devotion, the ultimate sacrifice, I believe it’s appropriate that we memorialize their service to our communities.

The governing document was sent to the Senate on April 8. It’s currently sitting in the Senate Committee on Assignments.

Vanfossan joined the Christopher Fire Department on Nov. 15, 2010. The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation wrote his family has a history with the department. Vanfossan died in 2019.

“I hope, with this action, we can memorialize (Vanfossan) and remind everyone that passes by that our firefighters put their lives on the line to protect all of us every day,” Severin said on his website. “We thank (Vanfossan), we miss him, and we honor all firefighters for their service and sacrifice.”

HJR87 is sponsored by Severin and Rep. Patrick Windhorst (R-Harrisburg) in the House and Sen. Dale Fowler (R-Harrisburg) in the Senate.

“He was your typical 24-year-old kid,” Brent Vanfossan, the firefighter's dad, said to WSILTV. “He loved life, loved helping people. He didn’t know a stranger. He loved being a fireman. He was following in my footsteps and he just loved helping people. He loved training as much as he loved fighting fires.”