Archive for December, 2016

Northwest Homer FPD news

Excerpts from wjol.com:

The family of an Orland Park woman is suing a 911 dispatch company after an ambulance was sent to the wrong address. In July of this year, the husband of Laurelyn Wagner-Pitts noticed his wife was having trouble breathing and called 911. The call was automatically sent to the Western Will County Communication Center according to the lawsuit. The address that appeared on the dispatcher’s screen was listed as Lakeview Trail in Homer Glen. But the emergency was at Lake View Court in Orland Park. Randy Pitts stayed on the line and repeated again that he lived in Orland Park.The dispatcher realized she had dispatched the wrong department.

Pitt’s wife had gone 17 minutes without oxygen. It would be 49 minutes from the time of the 911 call and arriving at Silver Cross Hospital. She died in August after the family took her off a ventilator.

The lawsuit filed in Will County Court is suing Western Will County Communications and the Northwest Homer Fire and Ambulance Protection District.

Excerpts from the firelawblog.com:

The family of a woman who died last summer when an ambulance was dispatched to the wrong address, has filed suit against the dispatch center and an Illinois fire department.

Laurelyn Wagner-Pitts, 60, suffered a cardiac arrest on July 30, 2016. Her husband, Randy Pitts, called 911 and requested an ambulance from the Western Will County Communication Center. The dispatcher had some difficulty with the address and initially sent an ambulance from the Homer Fire Department to a different location.

Approximately 10 minutes later the mistake was realized and an ambulance from the Northwest Homer Fire and Ambulance Protection District was dispatched. By the time it arrived, Wagner-Pitts had been without oxygen for an estimated 17 minutes. She passed away in August when her family took her off a ventilator.

The suit was filed by Wagner-Pitts’s two sons, Matthew and Eric Schlottman. It names the Western Will County Communication Center and Northwest Homer Fire and Ambulance Protection District as defendants. More on the story.

thanks Scott

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New engine for Fox Lake

Production photos from the Alexis Fire website of a new engine for the Fox lake FPD

fire engine being built

Alexis Fire photo

fire engine being built

Alexis Fire photo

fire engine being built

Alexis Fire photo

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Chicago Fire Department history

This from Larry Shapiro:

I came across this photo of a former Walters ARFF at O’Hare.

1970s vintage Walters ARFF from O'Hare Airport

Walters ARFF from O’Hare. Larry Shapiro photo

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Homewood Fire Department news

Excerpts from ABC7Chicago.com:

A man was found dead in a burning vehicle Monday afternoon in a park in south suburban Homewood.

Police and firefighters responded about 2:15 p.m. to a report of a vehicle on fire in Patriots Park in the 1300-block of West 187th Street. When crews arrived, the vehicle was fully engulfed in flames.

Once the blaze was extinguished, authorities discovered what appeared to be a human body in the vehicle. The body was identified as that of 18-year-old Hunter S. Craig of the 2100-block of Vardon Lane in Flossmoor, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. An autopsy to determine the cause and manner of his death was scheduled for Tuesday.

The Homewood Police Department Criminal Investigation Unit is investigating, along with the Illinois State Police Division of Forensic Services and the medical examiner’s office.

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As seen around … Wheeling

This from Larry Shapiro:

Here are a few shots of Wheeling apparatus at the scene of a small electrical fire in an apartment 12/22/16 at 301 Wood Creek Road.

Wheeling FD Engine 23

Larry Shapiro photo

Rosenbauer Commander Cobra tower ladder at night

Larry Shapiro photo

Rosenbauer Commander fire engine

Larry Shapiro photo

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New ambulances for Wheeling

From the Foster Coach Sales Facebook page:

2 brand new custom Horton conversions Freightliner chassis.

Freightliner M2 chassis for ambulances

Foster Coach Sales photo

new ambulance for the Wheeling FD

Foster Coach Sales photo

new ambulance interior

Foster Coach Sales photo

chevron striping on ambulance

Foster Coach Sales photo

 

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New ambulance for Carpentersville FD

From the Foster Coach Sales Facebook page:

Brand new custom Horton conversion on a Ford F550 4×4 chassis

Carpentersville FD Ambulance 91

New unit for Carpentersville Ambulance 91. Foster Coach photo

new ambulance interior

Foster Coach photo

new ambulance interior

Foster Coach photo

chevron striping on ambulance

Foster Coach photo

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Chicago Fire Department news

Excerpts from ABC7Chicago.com:

A Chicago firefighter was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in fair condition for treatment after a Sunday blaze on the Far South Side.

The fire was reported about 7:10 a.m. in the 3600-block of East 99th Street at a 2.5-story house, according to Fire Media Affairs.

From CFD Media on twitter:

  • S&B ALARM 9862 S AVE J 2.5 story frame. Will update as necessary.
  • S&B ALARM 9862 S AVE J Fire though roof CFD going defensive.

 

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Of interest … a Northbrook firefighter (more)

Excerpts from the DailyHerald.com:

Mount Prospect resident and Northbrook Firefighter Steve De Luca plans to run a half-marathon in July, do the Ironman Wisconsin in September and run the Chicago Marathon in October, his 25th.

However, an even larger milestone awaits him in 2017. De Luca hopes to mark his 16th year of being cancer-free, after battling stage 3 colon cancer in 2001.

Beating cancer isn’t the only health hazard De Luca has overcome. Just over 20 years ago, surgeons removed an acoustic neuroma from his head. It was a benign tumor, but he was left with a near total hearing loss in his left ear, and now his hearing is deteriorating in his right ear.

De Luca worried his hearing challenges would derail his fire career — he has been a firefighter apparatus engineer for 26 years. But specialized hearing aids, now in both ears, have allowed him to continue working. The aids localize sound and enable him to recognize the dispatch tones when they go off.

Northbrook Fire Chief Jose Torres said he thinks De Luca is the only one of his nearly 100-member personnel to complete his service while wearing double hearing aids.

Between these two health issues, De Luca has become something of an ambassador for health and wellness, his chief says. De Luca is a big proponent of monitors that gauge the air quality of toxic environments that firefighters often face.

Although each firefighter use breathing apparatus, Torres said, the firefighters often have to go in afterward during the cleanup stages and face exposure to toxins and other poisonous gases.

Earlier this year, Torres tapped De Luca to join Northbrook’s health and wellness committee. He thought De Luca would bring a unique perspective, given his own health experiences.

“He is admired by his fellow firefighters for participating in these endurance events,” Torres said. “But he is motivational as well. He does these events, not as much for himself, but for those currently suffering from cancer.”

thanks Dan

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Rockford Fire Department news

Excerpts from the rrstar.com:

Three children died in a Rockford house fire in the 2600 block of Mulberry Street Saturday.

The fire department received the call at 3:40 a.m. The first engine arrived and had heavy fire throughout the home. Firefighters initiated a search on the second floor but had to turn back because of the severity of the fire.

During a secondary search of the second floor firefighters found the bodies of the children and a dog.

Five people – a mother, her three other children and an adult male relative – safely escaped from the home after smoke detectors awakened them, said Rockford Fire Division Chief Matt Knott. The three surviving children were treated for burns at local hospitals.

Winnebago County Coroner William Hintz said the three children who died, two boys and a girl, were younger than 18.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. “We believe it originated in the back of the house near the kitchen or dining room area,” Knott said.

Smoke detectors were installed in the home by members of the fire department, Knott said, after a small extinguished fire occurred in the home in October. The October fire was accidental and not believed to be related to this fire, he said.

“We believe that one of the smoke detectors we provided did alert the family,” Knott said.

thanks Scott

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