Feb 23
WICS, ABC 20 in Springfield, reports that five Illinois fire departments are getting FEMA grant money;
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin has announced a nearly $1.4 million federal investment in five Illinois fire departments.
The funds are going to fire departments in Bellevue, Wellington, Evanston, Justice and Amboy. The money is for operations and safety activities.
Feb 23
Josh Boyajian tells us that:
Finally here are some pictures from the Pierce plant in Wisconsin of our new 100' Pierce Puc in the final inspection. Its on an Impel chassis with a Medium Duty Ladder. This will replace the old Seagrave quint at the south house for Q901. These pictures are from Berwyn FF Jim Wojo.
Berwyn FF Jim Wojo provided this photo of the Seagrave quint that is being replaced.
Feb 23
Bill Post found a link to a program from February 21st on WTTW that interviewed the President of the Chicago Firefighters Union.
View the recording HERE.
Feb 23
A Firefighter II Class currently running at the Northern Illinois Public Safety Training Academy (NIPSTA) was learning about automobile fires on Wednesday. They had half a dozen cars to destroy in the yard and they went about it in style. Always up for a fire … and with nothing genuine to attract a photographer in the area … Tim Olk and Larry Shapiro stopped by to take some photos.
Nothing like a well-involved automobile to produce big flames and thick black smoke. Larry Shapiro photo
Firefighters open a door of the burning car. Tim Olk photo
The firefighter encounters heavy smoke from the passenger compartment. Tim Olk photo
Given the go-ahead, firefighters advance on the fully involved car. Larry Shapiro photo
An instructor shows the firefighters where to insert the halogen to pry open the hood. Tim Olk photo
After the fire is knocked down, a firefighter advances to hit the remaining fire under the hood. Larry Shapiro photo
Under the watchful eye of an instructor, a firefighter uses a saw to cut into the trunk. Larry Shapiro photo
A firefighter works to open the hood to expose the engine compartment. Tim Olk photo
Enveloped by smoke, a handline is used to wet down the engine compartment. Larry Shapiro photo
Firefighters work to get the hood open. Tim Olk photo
For those one or two in Illinois who have never met Tim Olk ... let me introduce you. Larry Shapiro photo
Images from the collection of Bill Friedich
The Chicago Sun-Times has an article chronicling Chicago’s new fire commissioner, entitled From high school dropout to top of the Fire Department ladder. Excerpts include:
Jose Santiago is the only son of a working-class single mom and a father who was “never around.” He dropped out of Tuley High School at 17 to join the Marines and escape the Humboldt Park street gangs that had swallowed up so many of his friends.
The kid who did what he had to do survive the mean streets is Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s choice to become Chicago’s new $202,728-a-year fire commissioner …
“A bunch of my friends that I knew from school were all dead [or] dying. It was just a matter of time. …I had to get out of the neighborhood. If you knew Humboldt Park, you’d better get out of that neighborhood or you’re gonna become a statistic,” Santiago, 56, recalled Monday.
… he returned to Chicago in 1975 … At the time, the firefighters’ entrance exam was primarily a test of physical fitness and agility. Since Santiago was a Marine reserve in top physical condition, his score landed him as No. 10 on the hiring list. He was hired in September, 1979, and was on the job for all of two days when he made his first rescue.But the timing couldn’t have been worse. Within five months, firefighters went out on strike to protest then-Mayor Jane M. Byrne’s decision to confront the very issue that’s expected to be at the center of contentious contract talks between Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Chicago Firefighters Union Local 2: the requirement that every piece of fire apparatus be staffed by a minimum of five firefighters. Santiago was told by his union brethren that the strike would “probably last hours.” Instead, it dragged on for 23 days.
The rookie firefighter … never once considered crossing the picket line.
In fact, Santiago and his colleagues at Engine No. 76 … spent the strike monitoring [the] fire radio and responding to every fire in their district.
“As soon as there was a fire or something where somebody was injured, we would jump in our personal cars, drive to that area. If we had a fire, we would go in and grab the hose lines from the [firefighters who] crossed the picket lines. There was like 1,000 people who came on [to break the strike]. They did not know which end of the hose” was which, Santiago recalled.
“We’d go inside, put the fire out, make sure everybody was safe. Then we would hand all the tools back, go back to the firehouse and hold our picket signs. … We owned our own fire coats and helmets. But a lot of us were just in blue jeans and gym shoes running into the fire. …We were not gonna let someone die in our neighborhood because of the strike.”
Santiago is perceived, more as a go-along, get-along commissioner who will roll over for whatever economies Emanuel wants to make in the city’s second-largest department. But … [he] … should not be underestimated.
“We’re about to take this [department] into the 21st Century. How can technology help us run better? … How can we make it run efficiently first — before we even look at cutting,” Santiago said.
“We have to reform the job. …There are changes [coming]. …But everything is gonna be done with this big umbrella of safety built over it.”
The Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire District responded to a fire Monday night on Springhill Drive. The Daily Herald reports that:
No one was injured in a large fire that spread from an attached garage in Algonquin to the rest of the house, causing extensive damage Monday night.
Firefighters responded to the two-story house on the 1100 block of Spring Hill Drive at about 8:50 p.m. and remained on the scene as of 10 p.m. battling stubborn flames shooting through the roof.
The full article is HERE.
Tyler Tobolt submitted some shots from the scene.
According to the Algonquin Patch:
When crews arrived at 9:01 p.m., they found the entire two-story home was on fire, according to a news release from the Algonquin-LITH Fire Department.
The Incident Commander immediately upgraded the alarm to the 2nd level and crews initiated an aggressive exterior attack. The fire was declared out at 9:57 p.m. Crews remained on the scene until after midnight investigating the fire and securing the home.
Aftermath showing the extent of the fire damage. Scott Peterson photo
A view from the front does not do justice to the devastation. Scott Peterson photo
Mout Prospect Tower 13 is at the 'A-B' corner. A ground ladder is visible to the 3rd floor balcony where a resident was stranded due to the smoke. Arlington Heights Tower 1 is at the 'A-C' corner in the background. Larry Shapiro photo
Firefighters were called to a three-story condominium building at 715 W. Central in Mount Prospect before 5:30PM on Monday for a reported fire in a unit on the top floor. The First arriving company reported heavy smoke in the area and the alarm was upgraded to a working fire Code 4. Fire was in a rear corner unit and as fire communicated to the mansard roof and flames were evident from the outside, a Box Alarm was requested bringing mutual aid from several additional area fire departments. The fire was contained to the unit of origin within 20 minutes after the fire department arrived.
The Daily Herald reports that:
A resident was rescued from a third-story balcony of a Mount Prospect apartment building during a fire that left 12 apartment units uninhabitable Monday.
One Mount Prospect firefighter suffered a minor injury during the blaze and was treated at Alexian Brothers Hospital, said Mount Prospect Batallion Chief Henry Dawson.
ABC news has a neighbor’s photo HERE showing the fire from the rear.
image from ABC news
A displaced resident watches as firefighters verify that there is no fire in other units. Larry Shapiro photo
Mount Prospect Engine 13 was the still-alarm engine and had two lines off. Larry Shapiro photo
Firefighters rest after exiting the building. Larry Shapiro photo
Engine 13 was at the front of the building. Larry Shapiro photo
Departments that assisted at the scene included Elk Grove Village, Elk Grove Township, Palatine, North Maine, Arlington Heights, Palatine Rural, and Prospect Heights.
Additional images from the scene can be seen HERE.
An Evanston Fire Department Division Chief spotted fire at the base of a chimney at 1318 Elmwood yesterday and called in the alarm. Residents were home at the time and unaware of the fire. The alarm was elevated to a Box Alarm which brought mutual aid companies from Skokie, and Morton Grove.
A firefighter in the attic is visible out the roof as he directs others to a hot spot that needs overhaul. Tim Olk photo
The Daily Northwestern wrote that:
The fire started on the attic of the third floor and caused “pretty extensive damage,” (City of Evanston Spokesman) Palmer said. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined and is still under investigation.
The old, Victorian-style home sustained enough damage to cause structural problems to the building, Palmer said. The residents were forced to move out for the time being and the house was boarded up.
Overhaul is performed on all levels of the house at 1318 Elmwood after the fire was extinguished. Tim Olk photo
Evanston Now reported that:
Fire Division Chief Geoff Block called in the first report of the fire, which soon brought all of Evanston’s fire units to the scene at 1318 Elmwood Ave. as well as a tower truck from Skokie and a squad from Morton Grove.
Fire Chief Greg Klaiber says the four residents of the two-and-a-half-story Victorian home managed to escape without injury. They’d been in the basement or on the first floor of the home and weren’t aware of the blaze.
The fire had already broken through the roof by the time firefighters arrived and dragged a hose line up to the third floor converted attic space. Klaiber says crews managed to confine the fire to the third floor, but that there was some water damage to other parts of the home.
Evanston Truck 22 had their main to the roof. Tim Olk photo
Evanston Lt Bill Muno applies water to cool hot spots on the roof. Lt Muno has been promoted to the position of Battalion Chief and will assume his new role next week. Tim Olk photo
Evanston Engine 21 is just down the block. Tim Olk photo
Evanston Battalion Chief Don Kunita talks with firefighters outside the house after the fire was knocked down. This was the chief's last day on the job as he was retiring after 35 years with the department. Tim Olk photo
The Evanston Fire Department website notes that:
On February 20, 2012 Battalion Fire Chief Donald Kunita will retire from the Evanston Fire Department with 35 years of service to the City of Evanston. Chief Kunita started with the Department in 1976 as a Firefighter. In 1979 he became a Paramedic and was promoted to Captain in 1985. He worked as a fire inspector and investigator and was a state certified evidence technician. Kunita rose to the rank of Battalion Chief, commander of the 32 member Shift in 2003.
Fire Chief Greg Klaiber said Chief Kunita has been involved in numerous projects over the course of his career and was hired during a time when the department’s new paramedic program was getting underway. Kunita came on with 9 other recruits, including the department’s first female firefighter. Klaiber said he wants to thank Chief Kunita for his 35 years of dedicated service to the community of Evanston. Kunita recalls many changes in the fire service over the years that included the addition of breathing apparatus, better radio communications and enclosed cabs on vehicles that no longer required firefighters to ride on the outside of apparatus. Many changes to the methods used today and life safety codes have protected the citizens of Evanston and the firefighters that protect those within the community. A generation of firefighters has benefited from Don’s clear and steady leadership throughout his distinguished career Klaiber said.
More photos from the scene will be available HERE.
Bill Freidrich will be offering a new posting segment from time to time
I will be starting to send various vehicles to feature in a “Down Memory Lane” segment. First up is Truck 14. Other truck Companies that had identical rigs were as follows:Truck 32 EF-212 after Truck 14 got a new rig.Truck 41 EF-211Truck 42 EF-213Truck 53 EF-214Truck 54 EF-215Not sure which one was used in the movie Backdraft.
Truck 14 was a 1975 Seagrave 100' tractor-drawn aerial with a 1976 IHC Cargostar tractor. Bill Friedrich collection
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