Deerfield-Bannockburn Fire Chief James Quinn retired last Thursday after 41 years of service.
Articles about the event and Chief Quinn’s career can be found HERE and HERE.
Archive for September, 2011
Friday morning around 7:30AM, the Northbrook Fire Department received calls reporting heavy smoke coming from a vacant house at 1017 Shermer Road. First arriving companies found smoke throughout the ranch house coming from a basement fire. The alarm was elevated to a Code 4 for the working fire, and brought mutual aid from Glencoe and Northfield to assist.
After the fire was extinguished, an investigator’s box alarm was requested bringing fire investigators from neighboring Division 3 departments to assist Northbrook in determining a cause.
Tim Olk arrived with the first companies and submitted a few images of the scene.
Northbrook firefighters arrive to find a fire at 1017 Shermer Road Friday morning. After the window was vented, companies advance a line through the front door before realizing that the fire is in the beasement. Tim Olk photo
Firefighters work through heavy smoke to vent the roof as another works to remove the front door. Tim Olk photo
As the truck company prepares to exit the roof, a line is placed through the basement window to attack the fire. Tim Olk photo
Tim has a gallery with more images HERE.
The Mount Prospect Fire Department will host their eighteenth Open House on Saturday, September 24 between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. at the Police and Fire Headquarters building located at 112 East Northwest Highway.
A hot dog lunch will be provided by the Mount Prospect Kiwanis. Fire prevention activities, demonstrations and information for all age groups will be available.
Open Houses provide an opportunity for the community to see “up-close” the fire department activities, apparatus, and operations, as well as offering an opportunity to ask questions and talk with the Mount Prospect Fire Department personnel. Also visit www.mountprospect.org for more information.
An article in yeserday’s Chicago Tribune mentions that Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is beginning to look at cuts to both the police and fire departments to help bridge a budget shrtfall.
… And the once sacrosanct Fire Department also is being scoured for ways to cut costs, according to several City Hall sources.
The Emanuel administration isn’t saying which police stations might be in its sights. And it is unclear how far along officials are in exploring ideas, though a high-ranking administration source confirms “everything is on the table” when it comes to bridging an overall $636 million budget gap next year.
“The police and fire are the biggest part of our budget. If we don’t look at them, we will never get to the kind of savings we need to,” O’Connor said. “To the extent that public safety isn’t compromised, we can look for ways to save money that we haven’t done in the past.”
… Touching firefighters may be even more difficult.
The firefighters union contract, which expires next June, stipulates the number of personnel assigned to rigs and fire companies that must be maintained. It also spells out shift hours.
Firefighters work 24 hours on and 48 hours off. In the past, there have been conversations about moving to eight-hour shifts. Tom Ryan, president of the Chicago Firefighters Union, said Wednesday that he hasn’t heard such talk during Emanuel’s budget process.
“As of my conversation with the International Association of Firefighters last week, there are no paid fire departments in the country, large or small, that run with eight hours,” Ryan said. “It’s not economically efficient” because the city would have to hire more firefighters to cover three shifts.
Ald. George Cardenas, 12th, has suggested that consolidating police and fire stations, libraries and schools could save $50 million a year. “We have to look at the ones that are logistically easy to get (first),” he said.
The entire article is HERE.
Fire Department Open House
Sep 23
The following fire departments are hosting their annual open house on Saturday, September 24.
- Buffalo Grove
Join the Buffalo Grove Fire Department for their Annual Open House. The event will be at Station 26, 1051 Highland Grove drive from 10AM – 2PM.
- junior firefighting challenge
- fire extinguisher demonstration
- house of hazards
- puppet shows
- vehicle demonstration demonstration
- fire equipment and vehicle displays
- junior fire pole
- hot dogs and chili
For more information call 847-520-1522.
- North Maine FPD
The event is at the fire station, 9301 Potter Road, in unincorporated Maine Township, and will run from 11AM-3PM. Various municipal agencies will host displays and the MESS Canteen will serve hot dogs, chips and refreshments.
Highlights include:
- a presentation by the Cook County Sheriff’s Police Canine Unit
- a side-by-side burn unit demonstration which shows how residential fire sprinklers save lives
- an auto extrication
- a Kids Corner sponsored by Home Depot.
The open house commemorates 42 years of service to the area. For information, call 847-297-5020.
Several area fire departments have recently received new units:
- The Lincolnshire-Riverwoods FPD recently received their new 105′ Pierce Quint for Truck 53
Lincolnshire-Riverwoods 2011 Pierce Arrow XT 105' quint. Tim Olk photo
- West Chicago received a 2011 Pierce Impel pumper
West Chicago received this 2011 Pierce Impel pumper with a 1,500-GPM pump, and a 750-gallon water tank carrying Pierce sn 24377. John Tulipano photo
- The Northbrook Fire Department has a new ambulance from Medtec for station 11.
Ambulance 11 in Northbrook is a 2011 IHC/Medtec Type I. Foster Coach photo
A video has been posted by Larry Shapiro of the Long Grove burn down of the house on Checker Road. It’s a bit long, but details the operation from start to finish.
This morning, Firegeezer.com has an exclusive article describing a new nozzle for firefighting that has been designed by Franck Gaviot-Blanc, a fire research scientist in France who specializes in advanced research into fire behavior and extinguishment methodology.
… (it) is designed to suppress “flashover” conditions in a fire building and protect the firefighters inside from the deadly effects of the flashover. This is done by creating an engineered fog pattern designed to suppress and cool the fire gasses that are waiting for ignition and flashover.
An interview with the inventor and complete description of the nozzle can be found HERE.
The Northfield Fire Department responded to a basement fire Monday evening in the 2300 block of Burr Oak. The Chicago Tribune reports that two children and two babysitters fled the house before calling 911. The fire department found two cats in the home and administered aid to both.
Tim Olk submitted a few images of the scene.
Firefighters assemble outside the home in the 2300 block of Burr Oak after extinguishing a fire that originated in the basement. Tim Olk photo
Paramedics administer aid to the two family cats that were pulled out of the house by firefighters. Tim Olk photo
Winnetka's fire chief looks on as the paramedics tend to one of the cats that took in smoke. Tim Olk photo
