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Posts Tagged Illinois Fire Service Institute

New engine for the Illinois Fire Service Institute

Dec 21

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News, New Apparatus Order | Comments off

From Sentinel Emergency Solutions on Facebook:

NEW ORDER 
The Illinois Fire Service Institute in Champaign, Illinois has recently ordered this Rosenbauer Group commercial pumper! The Illinois Fire Service Institute (IFSI), is the statutory State Fire Academy for Illinois. It serves as the oldest continuous fire training institution in the Untied States. Each year, IFSI reaches approximately 60,000 students through the delivery of over 1,600 courses. This will be their FIRST Rosenbauer! Thank you Director Jim Keiken, and the Board of Directors for choosing Sentinel Emergency Solutions and Rosenbauer to build your next fire apparatus!
Features include:
FX 1/8? Body
Rosenbauer NPHP PTO 1250 GPM
Freightliner M2 106 2 Door Chassis
500 Gallons of Water
For more info click here 
Apparatus Specialist: Bill Schreiber Sentinel Emergency Solutions- Chicagoland
#chicagoareafire.com; #rosenbaueramerica; #IFSI; #FireTruck;

click to download

thanks Bill

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Fire Service news

Sep 14

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The Southside FOOLS organization is putting together a FOOLS School in conjunction with the Illinois Fire Service Institute at the end of the month in memory of a member and mentor to all in the Chicago-land area Chief John MAC McCastland.  

#chicagoareafire.com; #SouthsideFOOLS;

click to download

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Fire Service news

Feb 15

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Excerpts from the DailyHerald.com:

Safety is the number one value at Nicor Gas and the company works closely with fire departments across the company’s service territory in northern Illinois to ensure that firefighters are ready to respond to emergencies in the field.

To support this partnership and provide continued support that enables training and development of firefighters across the state, Nicor Gas recently provided $20,000 to the Illinois Fire Service Institute (IFSI) for their programs, and a $10,000 grant to Illinois Fire Chiefs Association (IFCA) Foundation to fund development opportunities and training programs for firefighters. 

Nicor Gas focuses on building and maintaining relationships with the Illinois fire service in several ways:

• Each year, community affairs representatives go to dozens of fire departments to talk about how Nicor Gas maintains a safe system and how we can best coordinate our response to natural gas emergencies.

• Nicor Gas’ Technical Training and Community Affairs departments host an annual hands-on training at the company’s Troy Grove Storage Field where 100 firefighters practice how to properly extinguish natural gas fires.

• This year, after a year working with the IFSI, Nicor Gas launched a new online Natural Gas Safety training module housed on the IFSI training platform. Firefighters from across the state have access to this 45-minute online, self-paced training module.

• Nicor Gas engages with fire departments each year to conduct mock exercises where both Nicor Gas and fire departments test their emergency response processes and protocols.

• Each year in the fall, Nicor Gas employees attend about 50 fire department open houses across northern Illinois reaching an estimated 35,000 residents to educate them about natural gas safety.

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Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in the fire service

Feb 7

Posted by Admin in Fire Service News | Comments off

Excerpts from foxillinois.com:

Fire chiefs from across Illinois brought concerns about mental illness to a discussion hosted by the Illinois Fire Service Institute on Tuesday.

The director of the Illinois Fire Service Institute said Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a very real issue among firefighters, just like it is in the military. Mental health education is now part of almost all trainings at IFSI, which should help reach about 12,000 firefighters a year.

Research is showing that the most helpful person firefighters can talk out these issues with are other firefighters. The Champaign Fire Department has staff members trained to counsel fellow firefighters and identify those who may need additional help.

For more information on help available to firefighters and paramedics dealing with mental health problems, you can view resources recommended by IFSI here.

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Illinois Fire Service Institute news

Aug 28

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Excerpts from fsi.illinois.edu:

ILLINOIS FIRE SERVICE INSTITUTE RECEIVES MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS FOUNDATION GRANT

The Illinois Fire Service Institute (IFSI) has received a grant for $100,000 from the Motorola Solutions Foundation, the charitable arm of Motorola Solutions, Inc.  Funds through the grant, will support the Illinois Fire Service Institute’s Basic Firefighter/NFPA Firefighter I Academy and Leadership Development and Decision Making Programs.  With increasing student enrollment numbers, both programs plan to purchase additional equipment and offset tuition costs for first responders.

The Motorola Solutions Foundation awards grants each year to organizations, such as the Illinois Fire Service Institute, which support and advance public safety programs and technology & engineering education initiatives. This year, programs that served underrepresented populations, including females, people with disabilities and veterans were prioritized.

For additional information on the Illinois Fire Service Institute, please visit www.fsi.illinois.edu and for more information on the Motorola Solutions Foundation grants program, please visit motorolasolutions.com/foundation.

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Of interest … McHenry County College Fire Science Program

Jul 24

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Excerpts from the DailyHerald.com:

Firefighter candidates and instructors from McHenry County College were among 50 firefighters from 15 departments who recently participated in more than eight hours of live fire exercises at the Illinois Fire Service Institute in Champaign. Firefighters practiced search and rescue, fire extinguishment, and searching for hidden fires in this structure.

This training, for firefighters from McHenry, Lake, and Kane Counties, was made possible by $5,475 in Perkins grant funding allocated to the MCC Fire Science Program.

The Perkins grant is a federal grant that provides funding for career and occupational training.

“The grant that was awarded to the McHenry County College Fire Science Program not only benefitted firefighters from McHenry County, but also firefighters from surrounding counties,” said Wes Crain, instructor and fire science department chair. “Firefighter candidates had an opportunity to gain live fire training experience that they otherwise would have not been able to attain.

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Streator receives land donation for training facility

Mar 28

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Excerpts from mywebtimes.com:

A Streator couple signed an agreement Thursday with the city donating land for a public safety training facility.

The agreement, between the Jim and Marjorie Rhodes Estate and Streator, allows for 8.7 acres at the end of 10th Street to be used for fire and police training. Formal legal closing on the property is expected to take place within a few weeks.

“I think it’s good for the community, something to bring to Streator,” Jim Rhodes said after signing the agreement. “We worked ever since back in the ‘80s when we first opened (our business) — we always had fire and ambulance out there doing training. I think it’s a nice place they can call their own.”

The property is at Edson, Center and Wesley streets, which as part of the agreement, will be renamed Jim Rhodes Lane.

Streator Fire Chief Gary Bird said the facility will be built in phases over five years, with the first including site work and connection of electricity and water to the grounds.

He added that all the fire chiefs in the Southern La Salle County Northern Livingston County Fire Chiefs Association are aware of the training center coming to Streator and that it will be available for their use.

“Streator police, Grand Ridge Fire Department and Long Point Fire Department have committed to do some training,” Bird said. “Some instructors will be from the Streator Fire Department, and it also will likely be a host site for the Illinois Fire Service Institute. It’s our hope that we can offer classes from instructors across the country.”

thanks Dan

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Illinois Fire Service Institute stalled by state budget impasse (more)

Jan 7

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Excerpts from the DailyIllini.com:

Many services and programs across Illinois remain in fiscal uncertainty due to the ongoing state budget standoff, but the Illinois Fire Service Institute, IFSI, is receiving just over $3.8 million in funding from the state Fire Prevention Fund.

The amount is an annual allocation for the IFSI, as the Fire Prevention Fund accounts for 27 percent of the institute’s funding. The IFSI is the mandated state fire academy headquartered in Champaign, which provides classes and firefighting training all across the state.

Governor Bruce Rauner signed the piecemeal spending bill, SB2039, on the same day that the Illinois State Senate approved it on Dec. 7. The bill allocates money from the Fire Prevention Fund to the Board of Trustees at the University. Though the $3.8 million goes through the University first, the bill earmarked the funds specifically for IFSI, said Deputy Director James Keiken. The bill comes at a time of fiscal limbo for Illinois, with an official 2016 fiscal budget yet to be decided.

The money is for “paying the Institute’s expenses, and providing the facilities and structures incident thereto, including payment to the University for personal services and related costs incurred,” according to the bill.

More specifically, the $3.8 million serves as the IFSI 2015-2016 school year budget for day-to-day operations and bills as well as its “cornerstone” program which offers courses of basic firefighting skills to various small fire districts and volunteers, free of charge to the department.

The cornerstone program takes about 2.5 percent of the budget or $600,000 dollars. However, due to budgetary problems, the program has not run since October, said IFSI Deputy Director James Keiken.

In addition, in the second quarter of the fiscal year the institute didn’t receive funding in time, causing the University to help cover some of IFSI’s operational costs.

In addition to the $3.8 million IFSI allocation, the bill frees up $3.1 billion to local governments across Illinois for a variety of uses such as local road repairs, winter maintenance and lottery prizes over $600.

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Illinois Fire Service Institute stalled by state budget impasse (more)

Oct 27

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Excerpts from the ChicagoTribune.com:

State Rep. Carol Sente met with representatives from various agencies within the Illinois Fire Services Association to discuss the urgent need to release funding for fire prevention prior to a hearing before the full House of Representatives and vote on the subject Tuesday.

Legislation supported by Sente would release appropriations from the Fire Prevention Fund, which is money collected for the specific purpose of training emergency personnel and properly insuring equipment owned by intergovernmental agencies and local departments. Monies from this fund cannot be used for any other budget purposes.

Currently, the lack of a state budget is having the severe impact of reducing the number of firefighters, particularly volunteers, that can be trained by the Illinois Fire Service Institute.

Sente serves as the co-chair of the Illinois Legislative Fire Caucus and holds regular dialogues with area chiefs and firefighters focused on identifying the needs of emergency personnel.

 

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Illinois Fire Service Institute stalled by state budget impasse

Oct 2

Posted by Admin in Fire Service News | 1 Comment

Excerpts from IllinoisHomePage.com:

Firefighters are feeling the effect of the state’s budget impasse. A training program is temporarily suspended at the Illinois Fire Service Institute.

Officials say 100 training classes are postponed until a state budget is approved. The Cornerstone program offers courses on fighting fires, safety and vehicle use.

The Carroll Fire Department is taking a hit from the training freeze. Captain Allen Cameron says they have nine volunteer firefighters still waiting to complete their training. Officials say it could take up to a year for the training classes to come back.

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