Archive for September 22nd, 2019

Peoria Fire Department news

Excerpts from Peoriapublicradio.com:

The Peoria Fire Department is honoring the 25th anniversary of a life-saving moment by calling for more people to learn CPR.

In 1994, then 17-year-old Nick Knapp was playing basketball at Woodruff High School when his heart suddenly stopped. Fortunately, off-duty fire captain Byron Yang was at the gym and immediately began performing CPR. Nick not only survived, but stayed completely neurologically intact. He went on to become the first basketball player to ever play Division 1 college basketball with an implantable defibrillator. His message is simple:

“Get out there and learn CPR,” he said. “It’s a very simple thing to learn, but it can all the difference for someone if you’re in the right situation at the right time. It can give someone, like me, a second chance at life.” Advances in resuscitation technology, like automatic defibrillators, mean more people survive incidents like his.

The Peoria Fire Department has since maintained a strong track record.

“Peoria firefighter paramedics, along with our AMT paramedics, were able to get a return of spontaneous circulation 32.6 percent of the time,” said Assistant Chief Tony Ardis, referencing data from last year. “That’s a fancy way of saying they were able to get a pulse back. The national average is 11 percent.”

But bystander CPR was performed in fewer than 16 percent of cardiac arrests. Learning compression CPR can have a huge effect on the likelihood of survival. Eighty percent of cardiac arrests happen in the home and it’s important to be able to take action while waiting for first responders emergency medical services.

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Still and Box Alarm fire in Chicago, 9-16-19

This from Chi-Town Fire Photos:

S&B Audio 2237 s Keeler

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Of interest … MABAS

Excerpts from Haixusa.com:

MABAS is an organization that jumps into action in the event of a major incident where the local fire department would be unable to cope on its own. The Mutual Aid Box Alarm System coordinates the response to large fires, train accidents, hazardous material incidents, airplane crashes, earthquakes, and other emergencies with large numbers of causalities, providing intelligent and effective standardized rescue methods. It can mobilize 38,000 of the 40,000 firefighters in Illinois, and assists fire departments in Iowa, Indiana, and Wisconsin, while also providing equipment. The system is funded by its member organizations and no one is charged for its services. 

HAIX® traveled through the suburbs of Chicago and up north to Wheeling, the home of MABAS Division 1. As we traveled the facility, there were trucks of all sizes loaded with tons of equipment and trailers with back-up material, including 500 ladder trucks, 1,300 ambulances (many paramedic capable), 250 heavy rescue squads, and 1,000 water tenders. Fire/EMS reserve units account for more than 1,000 additional emergency vehicles. These are the vehicles that a single fire station could never afford. There are also double-decker boat trailers, mobile ventilation units, and mobile post commands.

In 1970, the MABAS system was established to provide a swift, standardized, and effective method of mutual aid assistance for extra alarm fires and mass casualty incidents. Today, the organization includes nearly every fire department in Illinois, as well as many areas of Iowa, Indiana, and Wisconsin. MABAS-IL includes approximately 1,000 of the states’ 1,200 fire departments organized within 67 divisions. MABAS-IL divisions span an area from Lake Michigan to the Iowa border and south almost into Kentucky. Twelve Wisconsin divisions also share MABAS with their Illinois counterparts. The cities of Chicago, St. Louis, and Milwaukee are also member agencies. 

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New engine for Chicago (more)

This from Danny Nelms:

Another photo from JC Medina of FDD-673 Engine 74 

new E-ONE fire engine for the Chicago FD

JC Medina photo

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