Archive for June 18th, 2011

Triple fatal MVA in Prospect Heights

Jun 18

Posted by bgshap in MVA | Comments off

Triple fatal accident in Prospect Heights 6-18-11

The accident scene on Camp McDonald Road at Maple where three teens were killed this morning. The first tree struck is seen behind the unmarked squad car. Larry Shapiro photo

Just after 3AM this morning, the Prospect Heights Fire and Police departments received word of traffic accident on Camp McDonald Road at maple, roughly 50 yards east of Station 9. When Prospect Heights units arrived, they found a single vehicle accident with four occupants. The car apparently lost control while heading east, jumped the curb, hit a tree and a mailbox in one yard before hitting another tree in the next yard. The impact tore the car into two pieces before it could impact the front bedrooms of the house. Three of the four occupants were ejected from the car. Of the four teens, three were killed instantly and the fourth was transported to Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge.

The police department requested the accident recovery team who was on the scene for several hours. The vehicle was finally removed from the scene 12 hours after the accident. The Chicago Tribune has an article HERE, and the Daily Herald has one HERE.

Larry Shapiro went to the scene this afternoon as the vehicle was being removed and submitted a few images.

The large tree in the front yard saved the house from being hit as a bedroom is near the impact site. The rear of the car can be seen on the far right and the front of the car rests at the base of the flagpole. Larry Shapiro photo

The rear of the car was completely severed by the impact with the tree. Debris can be seen littering the lawn. Larry Shapiro photo

The front section of the car is lifted out of the yard by Fries Automotive. The rotator wrecker then swiveled to place the wreckage on a flatbed. Larry Shapiro photo

A large gallery with images of the recovery can be viewed HERE.

Tags: Century rotator, fatal car accident, Fries Automotive, Honda Accord split in two, Larry Shapiro, MVA, Prospect Heights Fire Department, towing recovery, triple fatal car accident

Chicago Engine 2 (fire boat)

Jun 18

Posted by bgshap in Fire Department News, Fire Service News | Comments off

Karl Klotz pointed us to a site HERE that outlines the specifications and some other interesting information about building the vessel and the requirements that the builder had to meet. Some of the highlights include:

As is immediately obvious from the photographs and accompanying General Arrangement drawing, this is a vessel for which the design was extremely customized to suit the operating environment. The fireboat was designed and built to operate year-round in Lake Michigan, the Chicago River, and surrounding harbours, which includes up to 30 cm (1′) of first year ice. The combination of a very shallow operating draft and an equally limiting air draft presented a significant design challenge, especially regarding weight estimation: if too heavy the vessel would near the bottom of the shallow river; if too light it would run afoul of the numerous low height bridges that grace the Chicago River through downtown Chicago. The new fireboat will be used to respond to any firefighting, rescue, hazmat decontamination, dive support operations, and other waterway related responses.

The fire-fighting capability is provided by two completely independent pump engines, also CAT model C32 diesels, each rated 745 kW at 1,800 rpm and driving an FFS model SFP250 x 350 fire pump, rated 1,590 m³ (7,000 US gallons) per hour at 10 bar (150 psi). There are four fire-fighting monitors:

Centre Forward – 22,710 Lpm (6,000 gpm)

P&S Forward – 11,355 Lpm (3,000 gpm)

Aft – 11,355 Lpm (3,000 gpm)

The aft monitor is located atop a hydraulically elevating mast, provided by Hunger Hydraulics C.C. Ltd. This raises the monitor to a height of 9.14 metres (30′) above the water. In addition to the main monitors, there is an array of hose manifold connections on each side and at the forward end of the fireboat. There are nine connections on each side and four connections at the forward end of the vessel.