Archive for July 11th, 2011

New tender for Crete Township

The Crete Township Fire Protection District in MABAS Division 27 has taken delivery of a new 3,000-gallon tender. The unit built by Alexis is on a tandem axle Freightliner M2-106 chassis. The tanker has a 500-GPM-PTO pump and a large flag graphic on the portable tank cover.

Crete Township FPD Alexis-Freightliner tanker

Tender 157 carries 3,000 gallons of water and was built on a Freightliner chassis by Alexis. Bill Friedrich photo

 

Crete Township FPD Alexis-Freightliner tanker

The officer's side shows the portable tank storage with the attractive flag graphics. Bill Friedrich photo

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5 alarms +1 special in West Chicago overnight

A three-story apartment building in West Chicago was severely damaged during an overnight fire that required the equivalent of six alarms. The fire which may have started as a result of a grill on a third floor balcony, damaged half of the 48-unit building. The Chicago Tribune has an article which states that:

The fire in the three-story, 48-unit Aspen Ridge  Apartments at 515 Carriage Drive broke out around 2:20 a.m., said West Chicago Deputy Chief Robert Hodge. Half of those units were affected, he said. There were no injuries.

Firefighters originally were called to the scene with reports of residents trapped on third-floor balconies. Five residents were rescued from second-floor balconies, Hodge said.

Firefighters quickly abandoned any attempt to save the building and fought the blaze to keep it from spreading, Lt. Lee Westrom said earlier. The level of the blaze kept increasing throughout the early morning hours, with a special alarm added about 4:20 a.m. to the five alarms previously called.

A mayday for possibly downed firefighters was sounded but all firefighters were soon accounted for, he added. According to fire radio communications, the firefighters escaped through the rear of the building. The decision not to send more firefighters into the building and to fight the blaze defensively was made after that.

The complete article can be found HERE. Additional articles are HERE, HERE, and HERE.

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New ambulance in Gurnee

The Gurnee Fire Department in MABAS Division 4 has recently received a new ambulance which was donated by one of their fire districts. Ambulance 1343 is a 2010 IHC 4300 Type I built by Wheeled Coach. The unit previously numbered as 1343, a 1998 IHC 4700 with a Road Rescue body, has been traded in.

Gurnee Fire Department new ambulance Wheeled Coach

Gurnee put this new Wheeled Coach ambulance into service at their Station 2. Larry Shapiro photo

 

Gurnee Fire Department ambulance 1343

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