Archive for December, 2015

Lawsuit against Geneva FD dismissed

Excerpts from the DailyHerald.com:

Kane County Judge Edward Schreiber dismissed the lawsuit last week “with prejudice,” meaning plaintiff Alfredo Garcia can’t refile the lawsuit against the city or ambulance driver Glenn Baum in the future, records show. Garcia sought more than $50,000 in damages after he was rear-ended Dec. 29, 2011, by a Geneva ambulance while he was stopped at Kirk Road and State Street, according to his lawsuit.

Garcia’s attorney argued his client, who was on his way to work, missed a month at his manufacturing job and the city did not offer a reasonable settlement, thus prompting the lawsuit. Attorneys for the city successfully argued the city and Baum are protected under state law and “are immune from injuries caused by the negligent operation of a motor vehicle when responding to an emergency call,” according to court documents.

According to the suit and pretrial depositions, the Kirk Road bridge was covered in “black ice” at 4:50 a.m. when Garcia’s car was hit.

“The records remain devoid of any facts to demonstrate the Baum committed any willful or wanton acts or omissions causing the vehicle collision of resultant injuries,” wrote attorneys for the city.

thanks Dan

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Chicago Still & Box alarm, 12/29/15

This from Code Photography:

Here are some photos of the Still & Box Alarm on 12/29/15. E76 arrived on scene with fire showing from the second floor. Eventually the fire went through the roof.

Chicago firefighters at vacant building fire

Code Photography

Chicago firefighters at vacant building fire

Code Photography

Chicago firefighters at vacant building fire

Code Photography

Chicago firefighters at vacant building fire

Code Photography

Chicago firefighters at vacant building fire

Code Photography

More photos
-Code Photography

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Vintage Chicago fire scenes from 1966

This from Steve Redick:

Scanned in a couple of more incidents …

January 11, 1966 4-11 alarm 28 E Jackson

January 10, 1966 4-11 106th & Calumet River  Grain Elevator

what a coupla days!!!

Steve
historic Chicago newspaper article

January 11, 1966 4-11 alarm 28 E Jackson. Warren Redick collection

historic Chicago newspaper article

January 11, 1966 4-11 alarm 28 E Jackson. Warren Redick collection

historic Chicago newspaper article

January 11, 1966 4-11 alarm 28 E Jackson. Warren Redick collection

historic Chicago newspaper article

January 10, 1966 a 4-11 Alarm fire in Chicago at 106th & Calumet River in a Grain Elevator. Warren Redick collection

historic Chicago newspaper article

January 10, 1966 a 4-11 Alarm fire in Chicago at 106th & Calumet River in a Grain Elevator. Warren Redick collection

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3-Alarm fire in Leaf River

barn fully engulfed in flames

Vinde Wells/Shaw Media

Excerpts from Saukvalley.com:

Flames engulfed a 150-year-old landmark around 3 p.m. this past Monday in Leaf River. (12/28/15)

High winds, slippery conditions and deep slush from a winter storm hampered firefighters from 10 area departments, but they did manage to save other nearby buildings, including two houses. No people or animals were injured and no cause had been determined by Tuesday, Leaf River Fire Chief Steve Shelton said.

The barn, on the southeast corner of state Route 72 and Main Street, held hay, feed, and equipment. It was built in 1844 and owned by Nancy Stukenberg’s family for generations. Her three horses, usually stabled inside, were in a nearby feedlot when the fire started and are fine she said. “Everything else can be replaced.”

Per radioman911.com, mutual aid on the 3 alarms included: Byron engine, truck, & chief; Win – Ber – Sew RIT mutual aid & Upgrade Due: Stillman Valley engine, German Valley engine & ambulance, Mount Morris truck & squad, Forreston squad, Oregon engine & tender; Mount Morris tender, ambulance, & chief; German Valley tender, Oregon cascade, Polo RIT – COQ: Lynn Scott Rock engine, Forreston ambulance

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Chicago Still & Box alarm, 12/29/15

This from Josh Boyajian:

Last night, around 9:30pm, the MFAO gave the 18th Battalion a working fire response to 1038 N Lawndale, which the MFAO Boxed prior to anyone’s arrival. Engine 76 arrived with a fire on the 2nd floor of a 2-story brick. Companies had some access problems with the house being boarded up. Engine 76 had two lines lead out and they made a quick knock on the fire.

firefighter pulls hose a building burns at night

Josh Boyajian photo

fire blows out window of vacant building

Drew Gresik photo

Chicago firefighters at vacant building fire

Drew Gresik photo

Chicago firefighters at vacant building fire

Josh Boyajian photo

Chicago firefighters at vacant building fire

Drew Gresik photo

Chicago firefighters at vacant building fire

Drew Gresik photo

Chicago firefighters at vacant building fire

Josh Boyajian photo

Josh Boyajian photo

Josh Boyajian photo

Chicago firefighters at vacant building fire

Josh Boyajian photo

Chicago firefighters at vacant building fire

Josh Boyajian photo

Chicago fire engine at night fire scene

Josh Boyajian photo

Chicago fire truck at night fire scene

Josh Boyajian photo

Chicago fire engine at night fire scene

Drew Gresik photo

Chicago fire truck at night fire scene

Drew Gresik photo

Chicago firefighters leave vacant building after a fire

Josh Boyajian photo

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New engine for North Palos

From a reader:

Merry Christmas! Here’s a couple of pictures of the new North Palos Engine 813 taken a month or so ago at Fire Service Inc. in St. John, Indiana.

new E-ONE Cyclone II fire engine

New North Palos Engine 813.

chevron on back of fire truck with custom hose cover

New North Palos Engine 813.

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New fire training campus planned (update)

Excerpts from the DailyHerald.com:

Construction of Elgin Community College’s new Public Safety Training Center in Burlington is wrapping up and the first students will take classes there in spring, officials said.

Work began in the fall of 2014 where the nearly $20 million center on about 120 acres along Plank Road will provide classes and training for police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical technicians.

“We anticipate having our first class start there mid-spring semester (end of March/April),” said Ileo Lott, ECC dean of sustainability, business and career technologies.

ECC now offers programs in fire science and safety, emergency medical services, hazardous materials and apparatus, fire science management, public safety communications, criminal justice and emergency medical technician-paramedic.

“When we are fully operational, the emergency operator (911) program, emergency medical technician basic program and fire science courses will be there,” Lott said.

Nearly 80 percent of police officers, firefighters and paramedics are credentialed at community colleges, according to the American Association of Community Colleges.

ECC’s new center includes an 18,300-square-foot academic building with space for future simulation training equipment, an 11,900-square-foot apparatus building including classrooms and two bays for training on fire and police equipment, and a three-story burn tower, which will simulate residential and commercial fires.

Also coming: an emergency operations simulated lab, a near-functioning command center to train students to respond to emergencies, and a community room available to fire and police departments for public meetings. The facility also will have a digital forensics lab that can be used by police to conduct investigations.

Also on the property are a 139,400-square-foot driving pad with a skid pad, a drafting pond providing water for firefighter training, and a dive pond for submerged vehicle search and rescue training.

The college is also looking to buy an ambulance for paramedic training.

“If we are able to teach students in the environment that they will be working in, it increases the quality (of learning),” said Carl DeCarlo, interim director of fire science and safety programs. “The new campus will allow us to store and maintain an ambulance and use it in a realistic setting.”

The South Elgin and Countryside Fire Protection District has offered ECC an ambulance it plans to decommission, which would cost ECC between $5,000 and $9,000, Lott said.

A new ambulance could cost more than “six figures,” he said. But “we haven’t finalized a deal with them at this point,” Lott said.

The center has generated much interest among local police and fire departments who want to use it to train their personnel. Ultimately, officials aim to train new and existing police and fire service professionals there.

“We are still working on the accreditation to become a regional training center,” Lott said. For that, the center must be certified by the state fire marshal’s office. Still, “we’re very excited to be able to be a participant in the community in this way,” Lott said.

thanks Dan

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Palatine house fire, 12/25/15

122515 524 N Easy St

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Child dies in Kankakee house fire, 12/26/15

Excerpts from ABC7Chicago.com:

A fire broke out about 8:30 a.m. Saturday morning in a Kankakee house . When firefighters arrived they say there was heavy smoke and fire coming from the house. 7-year-old T’niyah Hale was killed and four others were taken to hospitals including the girl’s uncle Robert Harris who tried to get inside the burning home to rescue his family. He is at Loyola University Medical Center with burns over 50 percent of his body.

The day after Christmas the family not only lost a child, but their home and all their belongings. “At this time the family has absolutely nothing, no more than the clothes that’s on their back,” Bishop Kenneth Franklin, a relative said.

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Fire district and community college discuss trading an ambulance for class time

Excerpts from the ChicagoTribune.com:

The South Elgin and Countryside Fire Protection District has an ambulance it isn’t using and is looking to sell.

The Elgin Community College’s Public Safety Training Center, now under construction near Burlington off Plank Road, would like to have an ambulance for training emergency medical technicians and others how to work in real-world conditions.

Now, the two sides are looking at whether or not the South Elgin fire district can donate the ambulance to the college. The fire district board has expressed interest in the trade but wants something for the taxpayers in return, said Fire Chief Bill Sohn.

The ambulance still has some value, Sohn said. He has gotten estimates that the ambulance is worth $5,000 to $9,000.

There have been preliminary discussions between representatives from the college, the Elgin Community College Foundation and the fire board.

A former firefighter paramedic, Dan Walter, one of the foundation board members said he remembers classes in emergency rooms and classrooms in the 1970s but rarely getting time working in an actual ambulance. The Elgin Community College paramedic program often borrows ambulances from other departments in the district but does not have one available for use.

As it is now, there is no location at the college to store an ambulance, said Carl DeCarlo, director of the fire science program at ECC. That will change when the public safety center opens.

The 18,300-square-foot academic building is set to open in spring or early summer 2016. It includes an 11,900-square-foot apparatus building, including classrooms and two bays for training on fire and police equipment, a three-story burn tower used for simulating residential and commercial fires, and other training amenities.

Sohn suggested that if the school would waive some rental time on the training tower — while still having the fire district pay the instructor — that would be a win-win for taxpayers in the fire and college district.

An area veterinarian has also shown interest in the ambulance, Sohn said.

“I would rather get it for the use at ECC,” said fire board trustee Joe Cluchey. But the fire district also needs to make sure taxpayers are getting fair market value out of the deal.

The Elgin Community College representatives said they would bring the proposal back to officials at the school.

The board also approved the 2015 tax levy of $5.7 million. The levy represents a 1.7 percent increase over the previous levy, said Steve Wascher, assistant fire chief.

thanks Dan

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