From CFD media on Twitter:
S&B @ 0047, 211 @ 0119 4712 -14 W Chicago 1 story auto body shop 100 X 150 partial Bow truss roof. 211 struck out @ 0158. No injuries no transports at present. Fire is out companies doing salvage and overhaul
Update 4712 -14 W Chicago. Companies picking up at present no injuries no transports. Companies returning in service.
CFD Media photo
CFD Media photo
Sep 14
Excerpts from Chicago.cbslocal.com:
Gunfire early Sunday morning rocked a section of the West Rogers Park neighborhood that has long been known as a quiet place to live.
Liquor bottles and trash littered West Ridge Plaza on the west side of California Avenue where the debris supports what neighbors describe as a party – with some perhaps drinking shots and then firing shots. Around 6:30 a.m. Sunday gunfire startled neighbors including firefighters working at Engine Company 71 at 6239 N. California Ave. Bullet holes and evidence markers were seen there.
Many say the area is not crime-ridden at all. But the Rogers Park (24th) District – which is bounded by the Howard Street and the Evanston boundary line on the north; Peterson, Elmdale, and Thorndale avenues on the south; Lake Michigan on the east; and Kedzie Avenue on the west – has been seeing some trouble with violent crime lately. The district has reported 31 shootings this year – up 72 percent compared to the same time a year ago.
Police said a 27-year-old woman driving through the crime scene at the time suffered a graze wound to the head. She drove herself a nearby hospital. But considering the amount of gunfire involved and the number of people nearby, it is fortunate that no one else was injured.
As Sunday night, no arrests had been made. Area Three detectives were investigating.
Chicago firefighters battled a 2-11 Alarm fire on Sunday at 4501 W. Addison Street at a commercial laundry.
From CFD Media on Twitter:
2-11 alarm 4502 W Addison CDD starting defensive operations. No injuries
CFD Media photo
CFD Media photo
CFD Media photo
And some late photos from Larry Shapiro:
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Excerpts from wttw.com:
Aldermen advanced an agreement Thursday that would give Chicago firefighters $95 million in back pay, but puts off fraught negotiations over how fire stations should be staffed.
Chicago Firefighters Union Local 2 ratified the tentative agreement with 76% of the vote, chief labor attorney for the city James Franczek told members of the City Council’s Workforce Development Committee, which unanimously endorsed the deal. The full city council is set to vote on the deal Wednesday.
The deal is retroactive to July 1, 2017, when the last labor agreement between the city and the firefighters union expired, and will last until June 30, 2021. The deal calls for firefighters to get a 10% raise during the term of the agreement, in keeping with pay hikes won by other unions that represent city workers.
In return for annual pay hikes ranging from 2% to 2.25% through Jan. 1, 2022, both retired and active duty firefighters will contribute more toward their health care coverage, saving the city $10 million during the duration of the agreement. The deal also calls for the city to expand its fleet of ambulances from 75 to 80, additional protective gear for firefighters, and up to two additional days of vacation for firefighters with more than 25 years of service.
The deal does not change a rule that requires every piece of fire equipment to be staffed by at least five employees. The agreement calls for the current staffing requirements to stay in place until Jan. 1, 2022.
This from Chi-Town Fire Photos:
Here are a few shots I took @ a fire on Wednesday (8/26/20) @ 1951 w Huron. Engine 30 deck gunned it on arrival.
Chi-Town Fire Photos
Truck 4 FDE-366
Truck 22 FDE-365
photo from Facebook
photo from Facebook
Donald Jimerson photo
Excerpts from claims journal.com:
An insurer may be liable for $14 million of a mortgage company’s settlement with the estates of two Chicago firefighters who were killed while battling a blaze at an abandoned laundry, a federal appellate court ruled Monday.
A district court judge had ruled that no coverage was owed under the excess liability policy issued by a Chubb unit because of an exclusion for properties held by a “mortgagee in procession.” But a panel of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that there was a question of whether the policyholder, Apex Mortgage Corp., was actually in possession of the property at 1738-1744 E. 75th St.
“The district court determined Apex indisputably possessed the property, but we think the court jumped the gun,” the court said.
The case is Apex Mortgage Corp. v. Great Northern Insurance Co.. The City of Chicago had cited the owners of the former Sing Way Commercial Shirt Service for 14 code violations. The court said the “property was in disrepair, exposed to the elements, trashed and open to vagrants.”
The building’s owners, Chuck and Richard Dai, had defaulted on their mortgage. When Apex threatened foreclosure, the Dais offered to give the deed to Apex. The company accepted subject to an inspection to ensure the property was marketable.
Apex inspected the property, installed new locks on the building and a tarp over the roof, but decided there was no point in pursuing foreclosure, Apex’s lawyers said in court pleadings. Apex returned the deed to the Dais in April 2009 with a letter reminding them they owned the building and urging them to secure the property. The Dais say they never got the letter.
On Dec. 22, 2010, the Chicago Fire Department responded to a fire at the property. The roof collapsed about 20 minutes after that call came in, killing firefighters Corey Ankum and Edward Stringer, who had entered the building to search for homeless occupants. Two other firefighters were buried in the rubble, but survived. The firefighters’ estates filed wrongful death actions against Apex, which the mortgage company settled for $15 million.
Apex’s primary liability insurer, Great Northern Insurance Co., paid the $1 million policy limit after Apex filed suit. Apex sought to recover the remaining $14 million from its excess policy with Federal Insurance Co., but Federal said no coverage was owed because of the exclusion.
District Court Judge Virginia M. Kendall agreed with Federal that Apex was a mortgagee in possession at the time of the fire and granted summary judgment in Federal’s favor. But the 7th Circuit said the facts in evidence provide room to argue otherwise.
The panel said Chuck Dai ordered a handyman to board up the property after the city cited him for code violations. He never made the other repairs that were ordered and eventually was sentenced to 180 days in jail for his negligence. Chuck Dai did not contest the city’s allegations that he controlled the property during those criminal proceedings.
The court also rejected Federal’s argument that Apex effectively admitted it was in possession of the property when it agreed to a settlement with the firefighters’ estates.
“Settlement does not create a judicial ruling,” the panel said. “Nor does it vindicate a plaintiff’s theory of liability. Parties can settle for any number of reasons and the obligation to pay comes from the settlement itself (an agreement), not from one party’s liability.”
The court remanded the case to the district court for further proceedings.
From Aiden Hughes:
“Battalion 20’s brand new 2020 Ford Explorer Police Interceptor SUV is now in service! Battalion 23 also received a buggy like this one along with PFC 4-5-9. They look very sporty and they switched back to green lights.”
Aiden Hughes photo
For the finest department portraits and composites contact Tim Olk or Larry Shapiro.
