Archive for August 23rd, 2019

Huntley Fire Protection District news (more)

artist rendering of new Huntley FPD fire station

Artist rendering of new Huntley FPD fire station

Excerpts from the DailyHerald.com:

Work could begin soon on the Huntley Fire Protection District’s new headquarters and two fire stations. The Huntley village board recently approved site plans for both projects — estimated to cost $13 million.

Construction is set to begin any day on the new 10,239-square-foot fire station on 2.23 acres at the southeast corner of Jim Dhamer Drive and Hennig Road. This will be the fire district’s fifth fire station. The project bid came in about $3 million, nearly $400,000 below the original estimate. Construction will take roughly seven months, with the station operational by February.

District officials are awaiting permits and construction bids on the second project, involving a 12,145-square-foot building addition and site renovations to the property at 11118 Main St., which serves as district administrative offices and maintenance facility.

With the addition and renovations, the 35,690-square-foot building will become the district’s new headquarters and Station 1 and also house a renovated maintenance facility. The addition will bring all administrative offices under one roof, and include firefighter living quarters, training facilities, a fitness facility, and garage parking. Roughly 15 employees will work there during daytime hours. The district’s current Station 1/headquarters at 11808 Coral St., will be vacated and sold upon completion of work on the Main Street property.

The Main Street site plan includes reconstruction of the parking lot on the north and west sides, providing 69 parking spaces — an increase of 34 spaces — and required stormwater detention at the north end of the site and enhancements to the village-owned detention basin north of the Donald Drive/Main Street intersection.

Bids on the new headquarters are expected back next week. Work will be done in phases and will take roughly 12 months to be completed.

thanks Ron

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Woodstock Fire/Rescue District news

Excerpts from the woodstockindependent.com:

With a more focused mission statement and a new four-year strategic plan, the Woodstock Fire/Rescue District is looking to improve as a professional department. The goals include specifics in such areas as staffing, equipment, fiscal responsibility, response times, health and wellness, and training.

65 percent of voters in an April referendum approved a property tax increase to address some of the problems the chief had pointed out in dozens of public informational sessions around the community. They want to restore staffing to 14 a day, up from the 12 that had been enacted last summer as a money-saving move. They want to bring back the jobs of deputy chief and fire prevention officer, positions that were eliminated to address the district’s financial troubles. Unfunded state mandates and rising pension costs caused the problems.

The district’s mission statement now  concisely says the district exists “to protect life and property through efficient and professional service to our community.” That document resulted from two meetings with community members, a risk assessment of more than 900 buildings in the 90-square-mile district, and an inventory of human and physical resources. The ultimate goal of the strategic plan will be to improve response times for fire and ambulance service, which now operates with 35 full-time professionals and several part-timers. Ambulance calls make up 75 percent of the district’s responses.

Once the board approves the plan, administrators will assign various district personnel to carry out implementation. The plan was designed to be carried out over the next four years. As a practical matter, funding from the property tax increase won’t start being available until next May, that will mean an additional $1.25 million the first year.

The plan also will help to determine how resources are used, including personnel, equipment, and money.

But everything the plan envisions would not have been possible without the successful referendum. Once the plan is approved, it will be available to the public on the WFRD website, wfrd.org.

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Working fire in Chicago, 8-20-19

Photos from Tim Olk of a working fire in Chicago 8/20/19

aerial ladder to roof of house fire

Tim Olk photo

Firefighter vents roof with a saw

Tim Olk photo

Firefighter vents roof with a saw

Tim Olk photo

Chicago Fire Department paramedic a t fire scene

Tim Olk photo

African American Firefighter with PPE carrying tools

Tim Olk photo

Firefighter in PPE with hand tools

Tim Olk photo

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Apartment fire in Evanston, 8-20-19

Excerpts from the ChicagoTribune.com:

Two cats and two dogs were rescued from an apartment fire in Evanston Tuesday night after firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze which was confined to a rear, first-floor unit of a four-story, multi-family courtyard building in the 600 block of Sheridan Road. As firefighters conducted a secondary search of the premises, they discovered and removed four pets, three of which they had to resuscitate using pet oxygen masks. All four pets survived, and there were no other reported injuries.

dog pulled from apartment fire

Tim Olk photo

cat pulled from apartment fire

Tim Olk photo

fire chief and Firefighter at fire scene

Tim Olk photo

cat pulled from apartment fire

Tim Olk photo

dog pulled from apartment fire

Tim Olk photo

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