Archive for April 2nd, 2016

East Peoria Fire Department news

Excerpts from the MortonNewsTimes.com:

When moving to a community, people often look at education, taxes and amenities that a city offers. One amenity that people may not be aware of in East Peoria is that the cardiac arrest survival rate is twice the national average, due to the efforts and training of the East Peoria Fire Department.

City Commissioner John Kahl, who is over public health and safety, presented a report about the fire department with statistics compiled by Fire Chief Al Servis. 

“I don’t know of any other community south of I-80 that has that [survival rate],” he said. 

The night before Kahl gave this presentation, his fellow city commissioner Dan Decker, who is an East Peoria firefighter, was involved in saving a life.  “Commissioner Decker was on duty last night and once again, they revived one of our citizens that was in full cardiac arrest,” Kahl said.

The fire department consists of 45 members with a total budget of $5.6 million for 2015-16. Under Servis, there are three assistant fire chiefs who have dual roles. One serves as a fire marshal, one oversees fire training and operations, and the other  is the EMS coordinator. Each shift has three lieutenants and 13 firefighters. 

“Not only has [Chief Servis] done an outstanding job to date, he is our first paramedic fire chief” Kahl said.

On Sept. 1, other history was made as the first female company officer, Veronica Marmitt was promoted to lieutenant. 

In 2015, the fire department had 3,737 calls and 9,231 responses. Of the 3,737 calls, 2,640 were emergency/medical and 77 were fires. The call volume in 2015 increased 11.5 percent over 2014.

The East Peoria Fire Department is unique in central Illinois, Kahl said, because everyone is advanced life support certified.

In 2015, there were 28 structure fires. The fire department responded: 71 percent of the time in under 5 minutes; 82 percent of the time in under 6 minutes; and 98 percent of the time in under 8 minutes.

The total value of the buildings that caught fire in 2015 was $690,000. Of that amount, $155,000 was considered a loss.

The fire department offers free instruction in CPR, with over 300 students trained in 2015.

“We had 850 business inspections by company officers and that’s going to be tied into one of the goals this year … a need to integrate code enforcement and inspections. We actually have over 1,500 businesses here in East Peoria, and as we continue to grow there’s a real need to change the way we do business from a life safety standpoint,” Kahl said.

 

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CFD firefighters injured in crash

Excerpts from the ChicagoTribune.com:

Three firefighters and a fourth person were injured in a traffic crash in the West Englewood neighborhood Thursday morning, according to authorities.

The engine crashed near 60th Street and Ashland Avenue, near a firehouse, about 10:40 a.m.

The firefighters were all taken to Little Company of Mary Hospital in Evergreen Park, and the fourth person was taken to St. Bernard Hospital and Healthcare Center.

Everyone was listed in good-to-fair condition, authorities said. It’s not clear how the crash happened.

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Geneva fire chief to retire

Excerpts from a City of Geneva press release:

After leading the Geneva Fire Department during a time of substantial growth and change in the community for the past two decades, Fire Chief Steve Olson has announced his retirement effective June 30.

Chief Olson has spent 42 years serving in the Geneva Fire Department, first being hired in 1974 as a paid-on-call firefighter. After being promoted to lieutenant in 1978, he joined the fire department on a full-time basis the following year. His career ascension included being promoted to captain in 1982, deputy chief in 1986, and finally chief in 1996. He oversees a combination department of 26 full-time firefighter/paramedics and more than 40 paid-on-call firefighters.

Coinciding with the growth of the city, Chief Olson has brought the Geneva Fire Department into the modern era with the construction of two fire stations, and the implementation of technology that includes educational programs and data analysis for all department operations. He initiated a community-based Automated External Defibrillator program that assisted local businesses and organizations in acquiring the devices along with training, installation, and maintenance.

Chief Olson developed the successful In-Service Company Inspection program that ensures the department annually inspects all commercial properties and introduced the use of laptop computers in fire vehicles to provide critical building information to responding firefighters and paramedics. He also helped lead the department through an exhaustive process that resulted in the department becoming an internationally accredited agency in 2001, a status it has successfully maintained through the subsequent 15 years.

Outside of Geneva, Olson was a field instructor for the Illinois Fire Service Institute from 1986 to 1996 and has served on the Commission of Fire Accreditation as a peer assessor/team leader since 2005 and as vice chair since 2014.

Chief Olson is a member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, Illinois Fire Chiefs Association, Kane County Chiefs Association, Mutual Aid Box Alarm System – Illinois, Illinois Fire Accreditation Managers workgroup, and Tri-Com Central Dispatch Board of Directors.

thanks Dan

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New tender for Crystal Lake

From the Interstate Emergency Vehicles Facebook page:

Crystal Lake Fire Department, Crystal Lake, IL. New U.S. Tanker built on a Kenworth T-800 chassis and a 3,000-gallon, elliptical poly-tank wrapped with mirror finished stainless steel.

new elliptical FD tender on Kenworth T800 chassis

Interstate Emergency Vehicles photo

new FD tender

Interstate Emergency Vehicles photo

new elliptical FD tender

Interstate Emergency Vehicles photo

new elliptical FD tender

Interstate Emergency Vehicles photo

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