From the Alsip Fire Department Facebook page:
It was great to see Chief Styczynski, Deputy Chief Ricker from Alsip Fire Department, and Matt Timmer of Fire Service, Inc. for the final inspection of their 11′ Spitfire Quick Attack/Urban Interface unit. Thank you for choosing Ward Apparatus for your emergency vehicle, customized to your specifications.
MCB photo
thanks Dennis
Sep 29
Excerpts from nbcchicago.com:
Hurricane Ian made landfall on Florida’s west coast Wednesday afternoon, turning streets into rivers, flooding building and homes, and leaving a destructive path in its wake.
In Naples, one of the hardest-hit areas by the Category 4 storm, the storm surge inundated a fire station, partly submerging fire trucks in several feet of water.
After leading a number of residents out of high water earlier Wednesday, firefighters with the Naples Fire-Rescue Department had to make one final rescue — their own. A video shows firefighters making a last ditch effort to save equipment from the rising flood waters. At one point, the fire chief notes that one of the trucks started smoking and had it moved outside the station so that it wouldn’t burn down the building should it catch on fire. They waded through nearly 4 feet of water to remove equipment and items from inside the trucks. The station lost several vehicles due to the storm.
thanks Rob
thanks Josh
This from Mike Summa for #TBT:
For TBT-This is the Chicago Ridge Fire Dept.’s Engine 6523, a 1996 HME 1871/Luverne 1500/500. Enjoy and comment.Mike Summa
Mike Summa photo
and from our files
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
click to download
Excerpts from news.nm.org:
At 34-years-old, Firefighter Frank Nunez has spent the past few days saying his final goodbyes from a hospital room at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.
In 2019, after experiencing pain in his left leg, Frank was diagnosed with a rare form of soft tissue cancer called synovial sarcoma. Frank was treated with chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery, and went into remission.
But in 2021, the cancer returned in his left lung. Frank participated in several clinical trials, and during his treatment he never stopped working at the Itasca Fire Protection District (IFPD).
Frank loved being a firefighter and had an incredibly strong work ethic. He started his career in 2014 and joined the IFPD in 2018, and responded to fire alarms and medical emergencies plus participating in fire prevention and training. He recently finished a fire inspector training class before being admitted to Northwestern Memorial in late September with terminal cancer.
During this hospitalization, Frank’s fellow firefighters have never left his side, rotating visits every day. Because Frank is intubated, the team communicates with Frank via text messages and dry erase boards. When asked to describe Frank, his colleagues said:
- They wish they could have his personality
- He was admired
- A warrior
- Intelligent
- An incredible human
On Wednesday, Sept. 21, Frank celebrated his 34th birthday with a commitment ceremony to his fiancé, Christina, inside his hospital room. Frank and Christina, who live in Crystal Lake, met two months before Frank was diagnosed with cancer in 2019. From the moment they started dating, Frank knew Christina was “the one.” They got engaged in June 2022, and share a dog, Max, who still waits by the door for Frank to come home.
Frank continues to provide counsel to other loved ones battling cancer – including his own mother, who just received a stem cell transplant for leukemia at Northwestern Memorial. Frank’s mother was able to visit him in the Medical Intensive Care Unit where the two shared their final goodbyes via messages on the dry erase board.
On Tuesday, Sept. 27, Frank went home on hospice care with a special escort. Itasca firefighters transported him in the very same ambulance he once used to transport patients. Members of the Chicago Fire Department were also there to salute Frank as he was lifted into the ambulance. Frank took his final ride home with fellow firefighters, his fiancé, and Max – who couldn’t wait any longer for his best friend to come home.
click to download
Sep 27
This from Bill Schreiber:
Dekalb FD Engine Company 3 in service training. Engine Company 2 expected in January.
Bill Schreiber photo
Bill Schreiber photo
Bill Schreiber photo
Bill Schreiber photo
A Des Plaines firefighter working in the fire prevention bureau spotted smoke from the eaves of a house at 501 S. Mt. Prospect Road Monday just before 2PM. After speaking with individuals outside the home, he called RED Center to report the house fire. He then entered the home to convince two people to evacuate and subsequently reentered to complete a secondary search.
The working fire response brought three engines, two chief officers, and four Des Plaines ambulances, a chief, truck, and ambulance from Mount Prospect, a chief and truck from Prospect Heights, a Wheeling engine, and a Niles truck. Des Plaines Battalion 61 and Truck 61 were both training at NIPSTA and responded from there.
The origin of the fire was believed to be a second story bathroom, but the entire second floor attic space of the split-level home was involved when suppression companies arrived.
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
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