Archive for August 29th, 2017

Joliet Fire Department news

Excerpts from nbcchicago.com:

For the second time in three months, the iconic old prison in suburban Joliet has caught fire. 

Joliet police said Monday morning the former Joliet Correctional Center was on fire, but it was not clear how serious the flames were.  Traffic near the prison was being detoured as firefighters battled the flames.

Further details weren’t immediately released, but a spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Corrections, which owns the facility, said the fire was under control just before 11 a.m. 

In May, a massive fire erupted at the former prison, which was built in 1858. 

The prison closed in 2002, and whle it has not had any inmates since, it served as somewhat of a tourist attraction in the area. 

Several high-profile inmates spent time at the facility, including serial killer John Wayne Gacey. Movies including the Blues Brothers and numerous television shows have also filmed at the old prison.

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New ambulance for Plainfield

From the Foster Coach Sales Facebook page:

Brand new custom Horton conversion on a Ford F550 chassis 

new Horton Type I ambulance

Foster Coach Sales photo

new Horton Type I ambulance

Foster Coach Sales

chevron striping on back of ambulance

Foster Coach Sales

new Horton Type I ambulance

Foster Coach Sales

new ambulance interior

Foster Coach Sales

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Grayslake Fire Protection District news (more)

Excerpts from the ChicagoTribune.com:

The teenage boy who had been shot in the head before his rescue from a Grayslake house fire last week has died.

Police said the 17-year-old died Saturday at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood. An autopsy on the teen was performed Sunday at the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office, but his cause of death was not determined.

Authorities initially cited strange circumstances surrounding last Tuesday’s early morning house fire on the 400 block of Normandy Lane where three Grayslake police officers and a neighbor rescued the teen.

thanks Dan

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Chicago Fire Department news

Excerpts from wgntv.com:

A memorial honoring some of Chicago’s bravest who helped out in New York after 9/11 is stuck in storage. The tribute to Chicago firefighters was donated four years ago but still does not have a home.

Herbie Johnson was among a group of Chicago firefighters that spent the better part of a month in New York.  They formed friendships with their counterparts that still exist to this day.

Johnson died in November 2012 while battling a blaze in the Gage Park neighborhood. The following summer, some of his friends from New York came to town to take part in a memorial golf outing held in Captain Johnson’s honor.  They brought with them some steel from a fallen tower, and it is now at Johnson’s old firehouse, Engine 123 at 51st and Leavitt.

The piece is meant to be put on public display for all the Chicago firefighters who helped during those dark days. But a second piece now sits on a pallet at a city warehouse on 39th Street collecting dust. Johnson’s family and others within the CFD ranks can’t understand why it’s still there and what is taking so long for it to be prominently displayed as a tribute somewhere in Chicago.

The Johnsons have called the South Side’s 19th Ward their home for decades.  It’s a place where many firefighters call home. Local Alderman Matt O’Shea said he only recently found out about the steel situation, and he too thinks the fire department has dropped the ball. He suggested King Lockhart Park at 106th and Western, which honors two firefighters who died in 1998, would be perfect for the steel tribute.

Fire department spokesman Larry Langford says they have been working with an artist in Utah who has volunteered his time and efforts to create a memorial.  They are waiting for a rendering from him but the artist has been sick.  The department said it continues to reach out to him, but to no avail.

thanks Dan

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