Excerpts from wgntv.com:
Three people were killed after a car crashed into a tree and caught on fire in Gurnee early Sunday morning. Police responded to a call of flames coming from a tree line along route 132 and North Greenleaf Street in Gurnee around 2:00 a.m. where the driver of an SUV had driven off the road and crashed into a tree causing the car to catch fire. All three occupants of the car were pronounced dead on the scene.
Aug 15
Excerpts from nbc5chicago.com:
At approximately 7:50 p.m. Sunday, three people were hurt by gunshots in the parking lot at Six Flags Great America. Gurnee police said that an initial investigation showed that a white sedan entered the parking lot of the theme park and drove towards the front entrance. More than one person exited the vehicle and began shooting towards an individual who was in the parking lot. The suspects then got back into the car and drove away from the scene.
The injured include a 17-year-old male from Aurora that sustained a gunshot wound to the upper thigh, and a 19-year-old female from Appleton, Wisconsin who sustained a gunshot wound to the lower leg. Both were transported to a nearby hospital. A third person sustained a shoulder injury and declined transportation to the hospital.
Officers from the Lake County Sheriff’s Department, as well as the nearby communities of North Chicago, Waukegan and Vernon Hills also responded to the scene.
The shooting remains under investigation and police are still searching for the suspects.
Excerpts from Gurneeil.us:
The Village of Gurnee and Warren Waukegan Fire Protection District Celebrate the Grand Opening of Fire Station 3
GURNEE, IL – The Village of Gurnee and the Warren Waukegan Fire Protection District (WWFPD) celebrated the grand opening of Fire Station 3, located at 5330 Manchester Drive Gurnee, IL 60031 with a ribbon cutting and celebration on Wednesday, October 13th at 1:00pm. Fire Station 3 compliments the two current fire station facilities serving the Village of Gurnee and the WWFPD. At 14,452 sq ft, the new fire station will be staffed with five firefighter/paramedics, and house two ambulances and one ladder truck.
The Village of Gurnee conducted multiple analyses and planned for the addition over several years. The strategic location of the facility will improve call response times, especially as multiple calls for service come in simultaneously, and provides for easy access on to Interstate 94 and Route-120.
In 2019, the original bid for the project came in at approximately $6.3M. Fire Station 3 was included in the 20/21 capital budget, however it was one of the expenditures delayed in April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to construction and supply trends around June 2020, the contractor suggested the village seek bids for construction. Following the advisement, bids came in at $5.8M. Despite the unprecedented impact of COVID-19 on all aspects of the economy and daily life, the construction of Station 3 was not affected.
thanks Keith
Apr 28
Congratulations and Thank You to Chief John Kavanagh and the members of the Village of Gurnee Fire Department on the purchase of their new Road Rescue Type I ambulance. This heavy duty unit is being built on a 2022 Ford F550 4×2 chassis, and will come complete with a Whelen Freedom IV series lightbar, Complete “M” Series LED warning light package, including all LED interior. This new Road Rescue, UltraMedic ambulance will come with their patented Whisper Quiet Interior and all aluminum cabinetry. It will also contain a Stryker Power Load System. Gurnee has been a longtime Fire Service Inc. customer. We appreciate the support and continued business from this tremendous customer.
Jan 20
Excerpts from the DailyHerald.com:
Former Gurnee Fire Chief Samuel J. Dada, who was so revered that village leaders named a street after him, died Friday at the age of 91. He started with the department in 1948 when it was a volunteer outfit with three trucks run out of McClure’s Garage and Towing. Six years later, he was Gurnee’s fire chief, a position he held for 35 years.
Beyond his service with the fire department, Dada also was the village superintendent of public works and a building commissioner for a time.
Dada, who had moved to Arkansas, would return for the annual Gurnee Days celebration every year and would spend time talking to old-timers and sharing tales of old Gurnee.
According to a history of the department written by Dada in 1978, the village’s first fire hydrant was installed at Warren High School and was used both for filling the department’s water tanks and for hauling water to residents’ cisterns. He wrote that the department first hired dispatchers in 1958. Before then, daytime calls were answered at McClure’s Garage and nighttime calls went to the homes of firefighters. In 1972, the volunteer fire department disbanded and a professional department was established.
Dada and his wife of 62 years, Corrine, had five children, 15 grandchildren, and 13 great-grandchildren.
Aug 25
Excerpts from the Dailyherald.com:
At a meeting Monday, Gurnee trustees will consider an agreement with FGM Architects Inc. to plan a third fire station on village-owned land on the south side of village. The plan is for the new station to be built behind the Triangle Office Building at 731 Route 21 near the intersection with Manchester Drive.
The village manager said a third station has been in discussion for years and would improve response times when firefighters are dealing with multiple or back-to-back emergencies.
Firefighters at the new station would primarily cover the Route 120 and 21 corridors. The village would not need new trucks, ambulances, or personnel.
Village staff met with three architectural firms on May 8 to decide which one to work with. Officials chose FGM Architects because the firm has completed numerous fire station projects in the area and has a branch specifically dedicated to public service buildings. The company’s fee would be set at 8.75 percent of the station’s budget. The specific dollar amount would be updated throughout the process.
The multiyear capital plan includes $500,000 this year, with placeholders of about $3.38 million in fiscal years 2020 and 2021.
Based on the current timeline, construction would start in the summer of 2021, with completion of the station by fall of 2022. The village board will meet at village hall, 325 N. O’Plaine Road, at 7 p.m. Monday.
thanks Ron
For the finest department portraits and composites contact Tim Olk or Larry Shapiro.
