Prospect Heights Fire District Trustee Jon Tammen
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Posts Tagged Prospect Heights Fire Protection District
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 20, 2023
PROSPECT HEIGHTS —Today, Tuesday, June 20, 2023 at 12:37 p.m. the Prospect Heights Fire Protection District was dispatched to a reported fire at 1209 N. Elmhurst Road in Prospect Heights.
Upon arrival, a significant amount of smoke was seen coming from the rear of the building. A closer look showed fire and heavy, dark smoke coming from the roof and interior. The building involved was a strip mall shopping center with 12 businesses. Several businesses adjacent to the area of the fire were filling with smoke.
All the businesses were evacuated and hoses were taken into the building to extinguish the fire. The fire rapidly spread in the ceiling and roof. Several water streams from aerial ladder trucks were used to control that spread until hoses could take over.
Due to the magnitude of the fire and potential for loss of property, the incident commander made a request for assistance using the mutual aid box alarm system – MABAS. This brought firefighters from more than a dozen other fire departments who assisted with the firefighting efforts.
No civilians were injured. One firefighter suffered non-life-threatening injuries that required medical care. The apartment complex to the rear of the building was never threatened by the fire.
The fire was brought under control and extinguished within one hour of arrival using several hose lines, four aerial apparatus water streams, and 26 fire apparatus. Firefighters spent more than three hours checking for hot spots and fire spread to ensure the fire was completely out.
All 12 businesses are displaced until hazards are resolved and repairs are made.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation
The Prospect Heights Fire Protections District reminds everyone to always have two ways to escape from their home or work place, to ensure smoke alarms are present and working, and to develop an emergency plan should their home or business be destroyed by a fire or other disaster.
Fire sprinklers save lives and property. Had this structure been equipped with fire sprinklers, the original fire may have been extinguished prior to the arrival of the fire department or at the worst, contained to the area where it had started.
This from Drew Smith:
In July of 2018 the PHFD faced its largest ever fire, and one of the largest fires in the northern suburbs, at the River Trails condos. Reaching 5 alarms, two special alarms, and an interdivisional task force, more than 200 firefithers and 50 companies fought the fire.
Fire photographer Steve Redick, a retired Chicago FD dispatcher, created this compilation of radio traffic and his photos and videos that chronicles the start to finish. The 45 minutes is worth a look.
This from Larry Shapiro:
Firefighters from Wheeling and Prospect Heights responded to an outside fire at 25 Versailles Court Sunday morning at 9:30. Wheeling Engine 23 arrived and reported a fire on the ‘D’ side of the house and upgraded the alarm to a working fire. Flames engulfed the west side of the house along with an outdoor structure, and impinged on the second floor. There was an exposure concern to the house on the ‘D’ side but the fire was contained with what was apparently only damage to the vinyl siding on the neighbor’s house.
Several lines were deployed and Tower 24 went to the roof. The fire appeared to be contained within 15 minutes.
Mutual aid on the working fire came from Mount Prospect, Buffalo Grove, Northbrook, Glenview, Lincolnshire-Riverwoods, and the North Maine FPD.
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Prospect Heights FPD news
Aug 30
This from Prospect Heights FPD Chief Drew Smith:
Here is a different kind of lift assist. Earlier today our deputy chief was leaving the firehouse when he noticed that the cell tower workers were stuck in their manlift. The lift was disabled so they could not get down. We used Tower 9 to assist them. No one was injured and they appeared to take this inconvenience as routine.
Prospect Heights FPD photo
Prospect Heights FPD photo
Prospect Heights FPD photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
From the Prospect Heights Fire District:
At 0549 Prospect Heights Squad 9 was dispatched to a car fire at the Motel 6, 540 Milwaukee Avenue. Before they left quarters it was upgraded to an accident with entrapment adding Battalion 9, Ambulance 9, Chief 900, plus Wheeling Ambulance 23, Ambulance 24, Engine 23, Tower 24, and Mount Prospect Truck 14. Multiple calls indicated the car had hit the levee wall and went into the Des Plaines River. Then it was reported there were victims in the river, possibly children. A swift water compliment was added: Wheeling Battalion 24 and Dive Squad 24, Dive 63 and Squad 63 from Des Plaines, and a Lincolnshire-Riverwoods boat.
The crash was located just south of the Motel 6 at the intersection of Milwaukee Avenue and River Road. On arrival, companies found an SUV that had crashed through the guard rail and went over the concrete levee wall into the Des Plaines River. One occupant was ejected with other possible occupants in the car. First arriving companies laddered the levee wall and went down the embankment to the car, where they extinguished the fire before starting a shore-based search. The ejected victim was DOA. The search of the river did not reveal any additional victims.
The Des Plaines River levee is a concrete wall that runs along the east side of Milwaukee Avenue south from Palatine Road to just north of Euclid/Lake Avenue. It is about 12 inches thick and extends several feet below grade so as to resist erosion. It extends above grade anywhere from a few feet tall to a height of over ten feet. At the location impacted by this car, it was 5-6 feet high. It appeared the impact may have moved the top of the levee wall as much as two inches closer to the river.
Prospect Heights FPD photo
Prospect Heights FPD photo
Prospect Heights FPD photo
Prospect Heights FPD photo
From the Prospect Heights Fire Protection District:
Battalion Chief Recruitment
Currently the PHFD has one shift without a battalion chief. Under the recently adopted collective bargaining agreement the fire chief is entrusted to appoint the battalion chief. The PHFD has fewer candidates for battalion chief than desired as a result of several
personnel actions in the past few years that included the PHFD’s transition from some part time officers to all full time officers and an increase in the number of full time firefighter/paramedics. Therefore, the PHFD is conducting a search for external candidates for battalion chief. Any identified external candidates will be evaluated with the internal candidates in an effort to identify the best candidate for battalion chief. It is anticipated that the review, selection, and appointment will occur in the next 90 days.
Excerpts from the journal-topics.com:
Vanessa Kieres was hired Feb. 16 as the Prospect Heights Fire Protection District’s first full-time female firefighter. While the district has had other women serve in part-time roles, Kieres is the first to be hired to a full-time position.
Kieres also stood out because of her physical fitness and background as a team player and athlete. She grew up playing basketball in Edison Park before attending Regina Dominican High School in Wilmette. In high school she was all-conference and an honorable mention all-state selection, setting the school record for points scored with 34 in a game. She would go on to play basketball for four years at William Penn University in Oscaloosa, Iowa, majoring in exercise science.
Kieres graduated from the Northeastern Illinois Public Safety Academy in March 2020, where she passed the basic operations firefighter certification. She spent her first two years as a firefighter/paramedic in LaGrange before coming to Prospect Heights.
The Prospect Heights Fire Protection District serves about 16,700 residents within the city of Prospect Heights and adjacent unincorporated areas of Cook County. Last year they responded to 2,415 calls for help — more than any year in its history. Consequently, since November, the district has hired four new full-time firefighter/paramedics.
Formed in 1944 — predating the city’s incorporation in 1976 — the Prospect Heights Fire Protection District was originally a volunteer fire department until it began to use part-time employees in the late 1980s. The paid workforce has expanded over the past 30 years to include full-time firefighter/paramedics, starting in 2005. The current force contains 17 full-time members and 13 part-time members.
From the Prospect Heights Fire District:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 26, 2022
PROSPECT HEIGHTS —Wednesday, January 26 at 7:48 p.m. the Prospect Heights Fire Protection District was dispatched to a reported fire at 108 Patricia in Prospect Heights.
Upon arrival, a two-story home was found to have fire in the attic. Heavy smoke was coming from all eaves of the roof, and no fire had spread into the home’s interior. Within a few minutes of their arrival, the first engine had a hose stream on the fire and extinguished the original fire. Efforts were then focused on the fire spreading in the roof and attic. Simultaneous with this, a search was made of the home to ensure everyone was outside. The fire was brought under control and extinguished within 20 minutes of arrival using two hose lines and more than a dozen fire apparatus. Approximately 40 firefighters composed the response force. Firefighters spent nearly one hour checking for hot spots and fire spread to ensure the fire was completely out.
A total of five engines, five water tankers, two aerial trucks, two ambulances, one rescue squad, and several chief officers were at the scene. Besides the Prospect Heights Fire Protection District and Wheeling Fire Department that were initially dispatched, assistance was provided by Des Plaines, Glenview, Mount Prospect, and Libertyville fire departments; the Elk Grove Township, Lincolnshire-Riverwoods, and Long Grove fire protection districts.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
The Prospect Heights Fire Protections District reminds everyone to always have two ways to escape from their home, to ensure smoke alarms are present and working, and to develop an emergency plan should their home be destroyed by a fire or other disaster.
Fire sprinklers save lives and property. Had this structure been equipped with fire sprinklers, the original fire would have been extinguished prior to the arrival of the fire department or at the worst, contained to the single room where it had started.
Larry Shapiro photo
This from Prospect Heights FPD Chief Drew Smith:
At 05:07 on Saturday, May 1 Prospect Heights and Wheeling companies were dispatched to an accident with extrication on eastbound Palatine Road near Wolf. First arriving units found a minivan on fire and at least two other cars involved. The scene was located just east of the Canadian National railroad bridge. No one was transported to the hospital despite the damage to the vehicles involved. A Superior ambulance was also on scene as they could not pass the crash scene. I am told they began triage before companies arrived.
Prospect Heights FPD photo
