Archive for April 20th, 2017

Mount Prospect Fire Department news

Excerpts from the DailyHerald.com:

Mount Prospect Fire Chief Brian Lambel is seeking approval from the village’s board of fire and police commissioners to fire an employee he says has made threatening statements.

The complaint filed by the chief says that Firefighter/Paramedic Lloyd Miller, a 12-year veteran of the force who has been on paid administrative leave since January, said he would “kill some people” if he was not put on a list for promotion. It also says that his co-workers are afraid of him and that they had Facebook photographs of him firing a gun at a photo of Osama bin Laden.

Lambel said the charges will be addressed at a Thursday evening commission hearing and declined to comment beyond what’s in the complaint.

Miller’s attorney, Dan Herbert, called the charges absurd and said they were retribution for Miller’s comments about the village when he sought election to a position with the firefighters union.

Miller sought membership on the union executive board at meetings in November and December.

The complaint says that on Jan. 13, Miller told Firefighter/Paramedic Joseph Reschke he was unhappy with the decision to transfer him to a different station as well as with changes announced by the union president to the lieutenant’s testing process, saying he will kill some people if he does not make the next lieutenant’s list. The complaint said Reschke reported the incident and on Jan. 17 Lambrel placed Miller on paid administrative leave, pending a formal investigation.

Lambel also had Miller submit to a fitness for duty evaluation on Jan. 24. During the evaluation, Miller, who owns a handgun and a shotgun, insisted he never fired either gun, denied being a gun enthusiast and said he did not know the brand or caliber of either gun or the type of ammunition he purchased.

However, Miller’s co-workers presented Lambel with copies of six photographs copied from Miller’s Facebook account showing him, among other things, holding a gun and shooting at a target photo of what appears to be Osama bin Laden, as well as standing alone in a picture displaying a large poster of bin Laden containing approximately 20 bullet holes in it, the complaint said.

The complaint states that Miller denied making the threats and that when shown the photos, denied being able to identify himself.

thanks Dan

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Rockford Fire Department news

Excerpts from mystateline.com:

“Everybody has that on the job. Everybody always has two or three calls that they’re going to remember.”

Rockford Fire Department Chief Derek Bergsten on the traumatic events that firefighters encounter in the line of duty. And although they all go home at the end of the day, he says sometimes, those experiences can have a lasting effect.

“We know that once you’re hired on the Rockford Fire Department or any fire or police, that you are going to see things that are going to impact your life, that are going to be engrained in your memory for the rest of your life,” said Chief Bergsten. “The big thing we really want to focus on now is how do you deal with that.”

That’s one reason the Rockford Fire Department has produced a new video. It’s an attempt to get firefighters to discuss traumatic stress they often hold inside. One of the biggest challenges they face is removing the stigma of needing help.

Dan DeGryse has been in the mental health field for the last thirty years, and has been with the Chicago Fire Department for 28 years. He is currently the director of the Florian Program at Rosecrance-one that is specifically tailored to attend to emergency personnel who understand where they’re coming from.

“You can really just have a conversation. That’s how treatment starts. It starts with a conversation,” said DeGryse. “We have to make it okay and when I say we, I mean everyone in the fire service, and the police and the military to get checked.”

Chief Bergsten saying it’s important those struggling know they’re not alone.

“You know, at the end of the day, everyone is a human being and we need to make sure that we provide the best support for those individuals.”

Rosecrance will be holding it’s second annual Florian Symposium September 21-22.

It’s a 2-day training for firefighters, police officers, EMS providers, military personnel, clinicians, and others where they will learn more about mental health, trauma, and peer support.

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Chicago Fire Department news

Excerpts from dnainfo.com:

Nobody was injured in separate fires that damaged a pair of Beverly homes Wednesday morning — including one being blamed on squirrels.

The first fire occurred around 4 a.m. on the back porch of a home near 101st and Leavitt St. The cause of the fire is under investigation and the home was left uninhabitable after the fire due to both smoke and water damage.

The second fire occurred about 6 a.m. at in the 2600 block of W. 100th Place. A resident of the home on W. 100th Place said that fire was caused by an electrical malfunction brought on by squirrels who had made their way into the small room off the back of the house.

The room was completely charred but the rest of the home was largely spared, he said.

thanks Dennis

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New aerial for Schiller Park (more)

Updated production photos from E-ONE of the new aerial ladder for Schiller Park so#140906

Fire truck being built for the Schiller Park Fire Department

E-ONE photo

Fire truck being built for the Schiller Park Fire Department

E-ONE photo

Fire truck being built for the Schiller Park Fire Department

E-ONE photo

Fire truck being built for the Schiller Park Fire Department

E-ONE photo

Fire truck being built for the Schiller Park Fire Department

E-ONE photo

Fire truck being built for the Schiller Park Fire Department

E-ONE photo

Fire truck being built for the Schiller Park Fire Department

E-ONE photo

Fire truck being built for the Schiller Park Fire Department

E-ONE photo

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