Archive for September, 2016

Of interest … Narcan

Sep 25

Posted by Admin in Reader submission | Comments off

There’s an epidemic and a major push to stop it from being so deadly. Heroin is plaguing people in big cities across the country. Chicago is among the worst.

This week is National Opioid Awareness Week. What anyone who knows a heroin user needs to be aware of is an antidote that can immediately stop a heroin overdose. And it’s as readily available as the drug itself.

Seven days a week, the Chicago Recovery Alliance hands it out for free from a mobile unit that travels through the city.

Naloxone – also known as Narcan — has been on the market for 45 years. Treatment centers hand it out readily and it’s on the shelf at local pharmacies. But just this week, Walgreens and Mariano’s began selling it over-the-counter. No prescription needed.

The spray is released into the mucous membranes in the nose. Then it’s about a 2-5 minutes to wait to see if the patient responds. If not, there’s another dose of the spray in the package to try again.

Naloxone lasts between 30 to 90 minutes in the body depending on the dose. Heroin lasts longer, especially forms combined with fentanyl, a common practice to prolong the high, so it’s important to call 911 as soon as possible before the patient experiences more breathing problems once the Naloxone wears off.

Ambulances have carried it for years and it’s on many fire trucks. They have an injectable form and the nasal spray.

Despite the availability, some challenges remain. Naloxone is expensive and pharmacists are just beginning to get the word Naloxone can be distributed without a prescription.

thanks Dan

Tags: antidote for heroin overdose, Naloxone, Narcan, Narcan available over the counter, National Opioid Awareness Week

Bloomington Fire Department news

Sep 25

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News | Comments off

Excerpts from the pantagraph.com:

Wearing a Chicago Cubs cap and shirt and a smile, Norman Wilson was ready to take off for Monday night’s Cubs game. All he needed was a little help from his team.

His family and caregivers made sure he had everything he needed for the trip to Chicago. And there were LeRoy Ambulance emergency medical technicians and Bloomington Fire Department firefighter/paramedics to transition Wilson from his hospital bed in a small Bloomington apartment to a stretcher that was placed in one of LeRoy’s ambulances for the trip.

The EMTs and paramedics/firefighters had worked with the Cubs to reserve space for Wilson and a reclining stretcher in the left field bleachers at Wrigley Field. That way, he could watch the Central Division Champions with his friends — the EMTs and paramedics/firefighters.

They weren’t making the trip because they were told to do it. They were taking Wilson — a lifelong Cubs fan — to his first game since he was left paralyzed from the chest down after a hit-and-run accident on Easter 2007.

Wilson has loved baseball since he played catch with his father and grandfather while growing up in Chicago. He loved the Cubs and grew up going to games and watching them on television.

Nine years ago, Wilson was struck by a vehicle as he walked home. After months of inpatient therapy, he was able to get off a ventilator and moved in with his mother. His goal is to be able to use a wheelchair and to get back into child care.

That’s what has impressed LeRoy Ambulance EMTs who transport him several times a month to doctors’ appointments, Bloomington paramedics who take him to the emergency room as needed and others who help to care for him at the hospital.

Chris Dunning came up with the idea to take Wilson to a Cubs’ game and worked on details with firefighter/paramedic Greg Fisher. Their colleagues joined the effort.

“Before I die, I’ll be able to say that I went to a Cubs’ game the year they went to the World Series,” Wilson said.

Tags: Bloomington Fire Department, Chris Dunning, firefighters help paralyzed man attend baseball game, LeRoy Ambulance, Norman Wilson, paralyzed Cubs fan travels to game

2-Alarm fire in Evergreen Park, 9-24-16 (more)

Sep 25

Posted by Admin in Apparatus on-scene, Fire Scene photos | 10 Comments

This from Matt Schumann:

Here are a few pictures from Saturday’s 2-11 for a fire in a restaurant at 3701 W. 95th St.

No visible flame for most of the fire and the fire picked up as time went on. Fire went to a defensive attack with 3 elevated streams in use. (Evergreen Park, Chicago Ridge and North Palos FPD).

Regards,

Matt Schumann

Matt Schumann photo

Matt Schumann photo

Snorkel and fire trucks at restaurant fire scene

Matt Schumann photo

Matt Schumann photo

more photos HERE

Tags: 2-Alarm fire in Evergreen Park, Evergreen Park Fire Department, fire destroys Evergreen Park restaurant, Matt Schumann, North Palos Fire Protection District, Snorkel at Evergreen Park fire scene

2-Alarm fire in Evergreen Park, 9-24-16 (more)

Sep 25

Posted by Admin in Apparatus on-scene, Fire Scene photos | Comments off

Photos from Gordon J. Nord, Jr. of the 2-Alarm fire in Evergreen Park, 9-24-16

Gordon J. Nord, Jr. photo

heavy smoke billows from restaurant on fire

Gordon J. Nord, Jr. photo

firefighters with hose line at fire scene

Gordon J. Nord, Jr. photo

Tags: 2-Alarm fire in Evergreen Park, Evergreen Park Fire Department, fire destroys Evergreen Park restaurant, Gordon J. Nord Jr.

Chicago Fire Department news

Sep 24

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News | Comments off

Excerpts from the ChicagoSunTimes.com:

In another in a long line of hiring discrimination rulings against the Chicago Fire Department, a federal appeals court on Monday ruled in favor of female paramedics in striking down a physical performance test used by the city to hire paramedics for over a decade.

The decision in the sex discrimination lawsuit, Ernst v. City of Chicago, overturns federal district court verdicts in 2014 and 2015 finding the city’s use of the test did not discriminate against female applicants. The fire department has been mired in litigation over racially and sexually discriminatory hiring practices for decades.

The appeals court ruling strikes down a test used by the department from 2000 to 2014. Between 2000 and 2009, nearly 1100 applicants, including 800 men and 300 women, took the test. Of those, 98 percent of the male applicants passed. The passing rate for female applicants was 60 percent, and plaintiffs in Ernst v. City of Chicago alleged this amounted to disparate impact under federal discrimination law.Judge Daniel Manion, authoring a unanimous opinion for the three-judge panel, questioned how some of the test elements, which included an arm crank machine, a timed step test, and a leg strength test, could measure any skill required of a Chicago paramedic.

While the city maintained the test was necessary, the court found a “lack of connection between real job skills” and the test, calling that “fatal to Chicago’s case.”Discrimination lawsuits against the department include the long-running Lewis v. City of Chicago, a more than 10-year-old race discrimination lawsuit which ended in a 2012 U.S. District Court injunction ordering Chicago to hire 111 African-American firefighters.In 2013 and 2014, the city settled two class-action lawsuits with women rejected for employment based on physical performance tests designed by the same developer who created the new test now struck down by the appeals court. Those settlements, Vasich v. City of Chicago and Godfrey v. City of Chicago, led to the hiring of more than 40 women as firefighters.

The plaintiffs in the case were Stacy Ernst, Irene Res, Kathy Kean, Dawn Hoard and Michelle Lahalih — all experienced paramedics.

thanks Dan

Tags: Chicago Fire Department, Dawn Hoard, Ernst v. City of Chicago, Godfrey v. City of Chicago, hiring discrimination ruling against the Chicago Fire Department, Irene Res, Kathy Kean, Lewis v. City of Chicago, Michelle Lahalih, sex discrimination lawsuit, Stacy Ernst, Vasich v. City of Chicago

2-Alarm fire in Evergreen Park, 9-24-16

Sep 24

Posted by Admin in Fire Scene video | 4 Comments

Video by Steve Redick of a 2-Alarm fire in Evergreen Park at 3701 W. 95th Street (9/24/16)

Tags: 2-Alarm fire in Evergreen Park, Evergreen Park Fire Department, fire destroys Evergreen Park restaurant, fire scene video, Steve Redick

Streator Fire Department news

Sep 24

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News | Comments off

Excerpts from Mywebtimes.com:

Earlier this year, the Streator Fire Department enacted a new policy requiring firefighters to respond to most medical emergencies, but the firefighters’ union is filing a complaint on the policy, saying it is a mandatory subject of negotiations. In March, it filed a complaint with the Illinois Labor Relations Board, which has yet to act.

The firefighters, represented by the International Association of Firefighters, allege the city committed an unfair labor practice by refusing to bargain in good faith over the change in policy, and the union asked the labor board to order the city to bargain in good faith.

In January, the city required all firefighters take classes to become certified first responders as part of their yearly training, according to the complaint filed March 21. On March 1, the city unilaterally required firefighters to begin first responder care for life-threatening emergencies, the complaint said.

The next day, the union sent a letter to City Manager Scot Wrighton demanding the city bargain over the change. Wrighton declined.

The policy change happened after Springfield-based HSHS closed St. Mary’s Hospital on Jan. 4 and immediately sold what was left to Peoria-based OSF, which has hospitals in Ottawa and Pontiac.

Under the new policy, the fire department will be dispatched to the three levels of medical emergencies prioritized as the most severe, and they will be sent to other calls when needed.

In his March 14 reply, Wrighton said the city entered a cooperative arrangement with Advanced Medical Transport, Streator’s private ambulance service, to provide union members first responder training to mitigate the impact of changes in ambulance and emergency room services now occurring in the community.

During a labor-management meeting, the union acknowledged it could not quantitatively document any impact that would require bargaining. Everyone involved agreed firefighters could be affected if they were exposed to certain blood-borne pathogens and risks of infection while responding to medical emergencies. As a result, Wrighton said, the city agreed to pay for all necessary vaccinations.

Under the state Public Labor Relations Act, providing first responder training amounts to an enhancement of the standards of service, which management is allowed to do, Wrighton said.

thanks Dan

Tags: firefighters union files unfair labor practice complaint, Streator Fire Department

Of interest … Freckles the firehouse dog

Sep 24

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Excerpts from dnainfo.com:

One of Chicago’s most famous dogs, Freckles, is on the mend after West Loop neighbors — and strangers — came to his rescue earlier this year.

After tearing his left ACL during a squirrel chase this summer, Freckles the firehouse dog needed surgery.

Often called the “ambassador of the West Loop,” Freckles is loved by many, but doesn’t have an official owner. He lives at Engine 103’s firehouse in the West Loop and neighbors Karen Pollack and Michelle Langlois, who live across the street from the firehouse, help care for him.

To raise funds for his surgery, Pollack and Langlois launched a GoFundMe campaign. Within days, neighbors had raised nearly $4,000 to help the 12-year-old Dalmatian-Pitbull mix.

Veterinarians Joanna Krol and Jason Long at the Animal Care Center of Chicago in the West Loop performed Freckles’ surgery to repair the injury. Soon after, vets at Veterinary Specialty Center in Buffalo Grove offered to provide rehab services to Freckles free of charge, Pollack said.

Freckles is completing underwater treadmill and laser therapy to treat pain and inflammation, confirmed Dr. Lindsay Seilheimer, a vet at the suburban center.

A West Loop celebrity, Freckles has posed for pictures with the cast of “Chicago Fire” and earned many fans over the years. He also has his own website, a Twitter handle and Facebook fan page.

Pollack said Pouch, the resident firehouse dog on “Chicago Fire,” was even modeled after Freckles.

thanks Dan

Tags: Freckles the firehouse dog

North Riverside Fire Department news

Sep 23

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News | Comments off

Excerpts from the RBLandmark.com:

On Sept. 14, the village charged North Riverside Firefighters Local 2714 with surface bargaining and improperly bargaining, saying the union has forced an impasse in negotiations by insisting on the elimination of the village’s private paramedic service provider, Paramedic Services of Illinois (PSI).

“The union has demanded the village terminate its contract with PSI as condition of any agreement,” the village’s complaint states.

The village filed the complaint with the state labor board after the two sides met on Aug. 31 and Sept. 8.

But the union’s attorney waved off the complaint, saying those two meetings weren’t bargaining sessions at all and that the village has not complied with last month’s state labor board’s ruling … that required the village to post notice of the violations, rescind the termination notices, and bargain in good faith. But the village has not posted the notice or rescinded the termination notices, according to the union’s attorney.

Instead, the village has appealed the labor board’s ruling to the Illinois Appellate Court.

There are now two matters involving the two-year old contract dispute between North Riverside and its firefighters before the appellate court. The first is the village’s appeal of a Cook County Circuit Court judge’s ruling that she did not have jurisdiction over the village’s call for unilateral termination of the firefighters’ union contract.

That matter has been in the appellate court’s hands for 11 months. Now the village has appealed the state labor board’s unfair labor practice ruling.

Meanwhile, the North Riverside mayor said that despite the pending court matters, he wants to come to an agreement with firefighters and that the meetings on Aug. 31 and Sept. 8 were part of that effort.

“[The fire union] knew those were serious sessions,” said Hermanek. “We went there fully ready to bargain and get an agreement.”

Yet, correspondence between the two sides in the run up to those negotiating sessions indicate that they were approaching those meetings carefully.

In an Aug. 19 letter to village officials, union President Rick Urbinati requested a meeting with the village’s bargaining team, but made it clear discussions would include implementation of the labor board’s order.

When the two sides met, the village handed the union discussion items related to a new contract, but the village’s attorney made clear that it was not considered a contract offer or proposal.

The mayor called that language a legal formality because of the pending litigation. He also complained that the union wouldn’t budge from its insistence on replacing PSI paramedics with low-cost part-time employees for a time while firefighters are trained to be paramedics.

The union contract and PSI’s contract with the village are separate deals, the mayor said. He pointed to a new, unprecedented five-year contract with police officers and a new deal with police dispatchers as examples of the village’s interest in negotiating union contracts.

Berry acknowledged that the firefighters’ union was seeking termination of the PSI contract, “but as a part of a negotiated settlement.”

The union wasn’t about to let go of its wish to terminate PSI’s contract, Berry said, when the village still won’t rescind termination notices it has issued to union firefighters.

“They are still proposing to replace us.”

thanks Dan

Tags: North Riverside considers privatizing the fire department, North Riverside Fire Department, North Riverside Firefighters Local 2714, North Riverside negotiating with firefighter's union, Paramedic Services of Illinois, Rick Urbinati president of the North Riverside Firefighters Union-Local 2714

One car MVA in Wheeling, 9-23-16

Sep 23

Posted by Admin in Crash scene photos, MVA | Comments off

This from Larry Shapiro:

Wheeling police and fire units were dispatched to 92 George Road just before noon today (9/23/16) for a one-car crash with entrapment. When they arrived, they found a small SUV resting sideways on the support cables for a utility pole in front of the house. The driver was conscious in the vehicle, but unable to get out.

Firefighters stabilized the car and then removed the driver who was transported to the hospital.

A Com Ed crew was requested to evaluate the situation and they determined that there was damage to the pole. After securing the pole with a truck-mounted boom, the two steel cables were cut dropping the car to the ground for removal.