Posts Tagged Wauconda Fire District

Wauconda firefighters pay it forward

Excerpts from the DailyHerald.com:

If you’re the person who purchased groceries for some Wauconda firefighters at a local supermarket, they want to thank you.

Lt. E.J. Miller and two other members of the Wauconda Fire District’s gold shift were at the register Sunday afternoon when they received a call about a possible fire and had to leave. They put their groceries back in their cart and took off for what turned out to be a false alarm.

When they returned to the store about 30 minutes later, their groceries had been paid for and bagged.

Miller asked a store employee if he knew who paid for the food, but the customer chose to remain anonymous.

“There was no receipt in the bag, so we don’t even know what the total was,” Miller said.

The firefighters pay for their own meals and had pooled about $85 for Sunday’s dinner. In the same spirit of giving, they gave the cash to the nonprofit Wauconda Island Lake Food Pantry on Wednesday [who] will use the money to buy milk, eggs, meat and other staples for as many as 200 needy local families.

The firefighters also shared their story on Facebook where it’s been an online hit [with] more than 70,000 views and more than 300 shares.

Screen Shot 2016-05-13 at 10.40.34 PM

thanks Dan

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Firefighter and resident injured in Island Lake house fire, 4-8-16

Excerpts from the NWHerald.com:

A homeowner and firefighter were injured Friday in a fire that officials said damaged an Island Lake townhouse and killed a dog and two cats.

Wauconda Fire District crews were dispatched shortly after 2 a.m. to a townhouse at 3613 Linden Drive after the homeowner called 911 to report a structure fire. When firefighters arrived, they found heavy flames coming from the attached garage of a two-story townhouse.

The homeowner, the only person in the home at the time, was taken to Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital with injuries not considered life-threatening, according to the release. A firefighter also was sent to the hospital because of the fire with injuries that were not life-threatening, officials said.

Firefighters extinguished the fire within 90 minutes and prevented it from spreading to other townhouses.

“The main body of the fire was in the garage,” Lt. Dan Frey said. “But there was extensive damage to the first floor, and smoke and heat damage to the second floor.”

Firefighters from Nunda, Fox River Grove, Crystal Lake, Marengo, Grayslake, Barrington-Countryside, McHenry, Countryside, Cary, Lake Zurich, Round Lake, Wonder Lake, and Lake Villa assisted Wauconda firefighters.

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Wauconda Fire District house fire, 3-17-16 (more)

This from Tim Olk:

Great stop one story ranch house heavy fire in attached garage On arrival no fire spread to inside of house fast stop

firefighters overhaul after garage fire

Tim Olk photo

firefighters overhaul after garage fire

Tim Olk photo

Wauconda FD fire engine

Tim Olk photo

firefighter overhauls after garage fire

Tim Olk photo

firefighter overhauls after garage fire

Tim Olk photo

aftermath of garage fire

Tim Olk photo

excavator clears debris from house fire

Tim Olk photo

aftermath of garage fire

Tim Olk photo

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Wauconda Fire District house fire, 3-17-16

Wauconda firefighters responded to 28036 N. Lakeview Circle (McHenry) for a house fire Thursday morning and were met with heavy fire from the attached garage. The incident was upgraded to a Box Alarm which brought multiple tankers (tenders) to the scene plus other suppression companies.

Ferrara fire truck at fire scene

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Pierce fire trucks at fire scene

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Pierce fire truck at fire scene

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firefighters RIT

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Pierce fire truck at fire scene

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fireman at fire scene

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fire department water tenders staged at fire scene

Larry Shapiro photo

Pierce fire engine at fire scene drafting from portable tank

Larry Shapiro photo

house fire aftermath

Larry Shapiro photo

Ferrara fire engine at fire scene

Larry Shapiro photo

Pierce fire engine at fire scene

Larry Shapiro photo

Fox lake Fire Department ambulance

Larry Shapiro photo

more photos at shapirophotography.net

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House fire in Wauconda, 9/17/15

Excerpts from the NorthwestHerald:

The Wauconda Fire District responded at 9:30 p.m. Thursday for a reported structure fire at 657 Clover Road in Wauconda, Battalion Chief Bill Hoover said.

Firefighters found smoke showing from the attic space of a raised ranch home, and investigators think the house was struck by lightning. The attic fire resulted in $50,000 damage and one firefighter being sent to the hospital with a knee injury.

The fire was contained to the attic but took about an hour to put out because firefighters had to clean out some tight spaces.

The Wauconda Fire District was assisted by departments from Lake Villa, Round Lake, Barrington Countryside, Fox River Grove, Cary and Grayslake.

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Wauconda looks into outsourcing 9-1-1 call center (more)

Excerpts from the OakLawnLeaf.com:

A Lake County municipality is “rethinking” an idea to move forward with controversial plans to close the village’s 911 emergency communications center and to outsource the services to a county group in light of opposition from community members and the problems experienced in other outsourcing such as the Village of Oak Lawn’s decision to privatize the services.

Village of Wauconda Trustees voted last Tuesday to table the move to the county group known as CenCom stating that there were too many questions and that it was too soon to vote. Mayor Frank Bart, who was elected two years ago, has pledged to close the 911 center and outsource the services to CenCom, which dispatches for 11 police and fire departments in Lake County. Bart has claimed that the move would save the village $300,000 a year.

However, opponents have pointed to the Village of Oak Lawn’s decision to outsource the services previously provided by union dispatchers in favor of a private company. “That decision was a disaster and I would be lying if I said we weren’t aware of those problems,” said a high ranking Wauconda village official who asked not to be identified.

Oak Lawn’s Village Manager Larry Deetjen had argued that his village would save money without affecting public safety when he recommended the privatization in Oak Lawn. Since that time, the village has had four directors of the center and been victimized by complaints from firemen, police officers and the public because of mistakes.

Wauconda’s administrator is admitting that the dispatchers would lose their jobs but said they would receive preferential consideration for the new jobs. A similar promise by Deetjen resulted in only a handful of the dispatchers being hired by the private company. Of those hired, half resigned shortly thereafter in light of the way the operations were handled. One dispatcher wrote a letter to the board detailing problems and to Mayor Sandra Bury [who] dismissed the letter as anonymous but also dismissed the complaints after the dispatcher came forward. The village never investigated any of the claims, including the statement that dispatchers were told to destroy complaints that were being made by police officers and firefighters.

Several glaring mistakes have resulted in headlines that have been reportedly noticed even in Wauconda. Hundreds of complaints have been made by public safety officers regarding dispatchers failing to send the right information to the police officers and firemen.

 

911 records reviewed by the Oak Lawn Leaf, after a legal tug of war that included the Attorney General of Illinois ruling that a 911 video should be released, showed a 6 to 7 minute delay in sending any ambulances to the fatal car accident killing two Roman Catholic Nuns at 95th and Cicero.

To make matters worse, the promised savings in Oak Lawn have not added up as promised with the union representing the dispatchers suing the village and later accepting a cash settlement. When Oak Lawn trustees voted 4-2 to privatize the services, the board ignored the threat of legal action and pleas from several 911 emergency operators and the wife of a police officer.

Oak Lawn Trustee Robert Streit, who along with former Trustee Carol Quinlan were the only votes against the privatization, noted that the village residents depend on professional service from its firemen and police officers. He said the 9-1-1 operators were the people behind the scenes that make sure the ambulance that residents call gets to the right address in a timely manner and assures police officers that a back up squad is on its way during a robbery.

He said that he is happy to hear that the Wauconda trustees are taking a hard look at the issue rather than blindly following the village manager’s suggestion. He said that he wishes Oak Lawn was not seen as an example of a bad decision but perhaps the mistake can be avoided elsewhere.

thanks Dan

More on this HERE

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Wauconda looks into outsourcing 9-1-1 call center (more)

Excerpts from the DailyHerald.com:

Wauconda trustees on Tuesday delayed moving forward with controversial plans to shutter the town’s 911 center and outsource dispatching. Too many questions about the proposal to join CenCom need answers, Trustee Tim Howe said, and that means that it’s too soon to vote.

Mayor Frank Bart has championed closing the 911 center since he was elected two years ago.

CenCom has become the focus of the village’s outsourcing talk.

thanks Ron

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Wauconda looks into outsourcing 9-1-1 call center (more)

Excerpts from the DailyHerald.com:

A controversial plan to outsource Wauconda’s police dispatch service could move closer to a resolution Tuesday.

Village Administrator Doug Maxeiner will ask trustees to commit to a plan to join CenCom, a 911 call center based in Round Lake Beach that already serves 11 police and fire departments throughout Lake County. If the deal is approved, Wauconda’s high-tech 911 center, which is at the police station, would be mothballed. Eleven employees would be laid off. Wauconda’s dispatchers would get preferential consideration if CenCom expands its staff.

“It’s unfortunate,” said Trustee Ken Arnswald, who formerly opposed outsourcing but has swung the other way. “I don’t want anyone to be out of a job.”

Many Wauconda residents have spent much of the last year protesting outsourcing plans. In recent months, however, outsourcing supporters have begun appearing at meetings and speaking their minds in greater numbers.

Going with CenCom could save Wauconda up to $300,000 annually, Maxeiner said in June. The village’s spending is outpacing revenue, and he’s voiced concern about future budget deficits.

The consolidation debate ramped up more than a year ago. At first, officials primarily talked about outsourcing the service to Lake Zurich. Maxeiner recently changed focus to CenCom because that group could better serve calls for the Wauconda Fire Protection District, which also uses Wauconda’s center.  The Tower Lakes and Lakemoor police departments pay Wauconda to handle their 911 calls, too, and also would be affected if the center shuts down.

The shift was made concrete in June when the board voted to petition CenCom for membership and to negotiate an agreement for admission.

“The time to consolidate is now,” Wauconda Mayor Bart said. “We keep this quality public safety service, we save over $300,000 of taxpayer dollars annually, and it gives our displaced employees the preferential opportunity to be hired by CenCom.”

The board’s decision is influenced by political machinations in Springfield, officials said. Gov. Bruce Rauner’s threatened cuts to local shares of tax revenue has Wauconda officials worried about balancing future budgets. Additionally, state lawmakers have approved legislation that calls for dispatch centers to consolidate significantly in the future.

With those factors in mind, Wauconda’s trustees shifted from generally opposing outsourcing to favoring a deal with CenCom.

thanks Ron

Previous posts are HERE and HERE.

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Box alarm fire in Volo, 7-4-15

This from Sam Borcia:

Here’s some shots of the house fire in Volo last night (7-4-15). It went to the box alarm. It started with the attached garage on fire, then extended to the house and caused an exposure to two other houses. This happened at 522 Niagara Drive (main house) and then to 534 Niagara Drive which was damaged by the fire as well. Fire was put out in about 30 minutes or so.

Sam Borcia
Owner of Lake & McHenry County Scanner
flames through roof of house at night

Sam Borcia photo

flames through roof of house at night

Sam Borcia photo

townhouse fire at night

Sam Borcia photo

townhouse fire at night

Sam Borcia photo

fire engine at night fire scene

Sam Borcia photo

aftermath of townhouse fire at night

Sam Borcia photo

townhouse fire at night

Sam Borcia photo

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Wauconda fire chief to retire

Excerpts from the DailyHerald.com:

Longtime Wauconda Fire District Chief David Dato will retire in August, officials announced Friday.  A traditional walkout ceremony is planned for Aug. 6, his last scheduled day of work.

Dato, 57, has served with the fire district, which covers Wauconda, Island Lake, and other nearby communities in Lake and McHenry counties, for 37 years. He’s been chief for 23 years, taking the reins in 1992. He began working with the department part-time while in college. He spent two years with the North Maine Fire Protection District in Des Plaines before joining the Wauconda district for good in 1984.

Although leaving the fire service, Dato said he is considering employment opportunities in public safety communications.

He’ll be replaced by Michael Wahl, the district’s deputy chief, who joined the Wauconda Fire District in 1987. He served as lieutenant and captain before being named deputy chief.

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