Another photo of Bridgeview FD Battalion 40
Keith Grzadziel photo
Archive for June 21st, 2020
Chicago Fire Department news
Jun 21
Excerpts from the ChicagoSunTimes.com:
Between alarms, you might have seen Lt. Leroy Hearon gliding around his Chicago firehouse, perfecting the steps to the tango which enticed him more than 25 years ago. When he saw the Argentinian art form — sensual, melancholy and urgent — he instantly was determined to learn it. Eventually, he taught the dance and would travel every year to Buenos Aires, staying for weeks to take lessons and perform at dance halls.
Leroy died June 11 at the age of 63 of pneumonia after contracting the coronavirus. His 84-year-old mother died April 29 of natural causes, and he fell ill three days later. He was hospitalized for about 45 days.
Leroy grew up in public housing at Cabrini-Green. His mother, a data entry operator, was from Greenwood, Mississippi. His father was a truck driver for Inland Steel. After graduating from Gordon Tech High School, he attended the prep school at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. At 22, he scored high on both the Chicago police and fire exams, but the fire department was taking recruits at the time, so he entered the fire academy. He climbed the ranks to lieutenant, and his assignments included stints in Uptown, at O’Hare Airpor,t and Midway Airport. Before retiring at 55, he worked in the Fire Prevention Bureau.
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Excerpts from Fox59.com:
The Waukegan Fire Department is urging people to not keep hand sanitizer in their cars due to the risk of fire after firefighters responded to a car fire Thursday afternoon. A preliminary investigation revealed the fire appeared to be caused by a small bottle of hand sanitizer that was left on the dashboard.
“The owner had been refilling with 80% alcohol sanitizer that was supplied by their employer. It appears sunlight shining through the windshield onto the sanitizer was enough to cause ignition,” the fire department said on Facebook.
By the time firefighters arrived, the fire was out. They said the owner sprayed some water through a hole in the windshield but it likely was extinguished due to lack of oxygen.
“The Waukegan Fire Department is aware of other incidents similar to this happening as more and more people are using a higher alcohol concentration hand sanitizer due to our current pandemic,” the department said. “As the heat of summer is near we STRONGLY recommend that hand sanitizers not be kept in cars.”
Waukegan FD photo
Waukegan FD photo
Waukegan FD photo
