Archive for November, 2011

Plane crashes in Riverwoods – update

Nov 30

Posted by bgshap in plane crash | Comments off

The FAA and NTSB personnel spent much of the day on Tuesday examining the wreckage and scene of Monday night’s plane crash in Riverwoods.

Federal investigators examine the wreckage of a Piper Navajo that crashed Monday night in suburban Riverwoods. Tim Olk photo

After they were finished, they released the wreckage to Fries Automotive to remove the plane and debris from the scene and transport everything to Campbell Airport in Grayslake. Fries was assisted by Rogner’s Towing out of Palatine. Earlier in the day, a tree removal contractor cut trees that had been damaged by the plane plus those additional trees necessary to clear a path for a truck to access the scene.

A tree trimmer climbs a tree near the wreckage to remove large limbs that were severed and hanging above the wreckage. Tim Olk photo

Also, an employee of the tree contractor climbed one of the tall trees to remove a piece of debris that was lodged there.

A climber has to go significantly higher that the reach of a bucket truck will allow in order to remove a piece of debris. Tim Olk photo

The debris can be seen at the top of a tree which was clipped by the plane as it went down. Tim Olk photo

plane crash in Riverwoods IL Fries Automotive

A rollback tow truck sits on sheets of plywood in a lane cleared after several trees were cut down. Larry Shapiro photo

Debris and trees litter the yard near the crash. Larry Shapiro photo

plane crash in Riverwoods IL Fries Automotive Piper Navajo

As the sun sets, the scene is turned over to the recovery crew. Larry Shapiro photo

The medical transport plane had an area for a stretcher. Larry Shapiro photo

plane crash in Riverwoods IL Piper Navajo

The plane's tail number. Larry Shapiro photo

The pilot sitting in the far seat did not survive the crash although the person in the closer seat is alive. Larry Shapiro photo

A skid ster unit carries one of the plane's engines out to the street. Larry Shapiro photo

The plane came to rest in between several trees. Larry Shapiro photo

The plane is pulled from it's position with a cable from the heavy wrecker out on Portwine Road. The cable runs through a snatch block anchored against a large tree. Larry Shapiro photo

Tim has more photos HERE and Larry has a gallery HERE.

Tags: Century heavy wrecker rotator, Fries Automotive, Larry Shapiro, Piper Navajo crash, plane crash, plane crash in Riverwoods IL, plane crash wreckage, removal of downed air plane, Rogner's Towing, skid steer, snatch block, Tim Olk

Barrington looking for fire department cuts – update

Nov 30

Posted by bgshap in Fire Department News, Fire Service News | 1 Comment

The Daily Herald has another article today about the Village Of Barrington looking for ways to save money with regards to the fire department:

Though Barrington village officials have been discussing ways to save money on fire services, a recent proposal to flip-flop their contractual relationship with the Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District apparently is no longer on the table.

Under the proposed change, the fire district — which serves a 40+-square-mile area around the village of Barrington — would become the contractor and the village its customer. Currently, the district contracts with the village’s fire department to provide fire protection services to its residents.

Barrington Village President Karen Darch said the proposal wasn’t meant solely as a cost-cutting measure. Rather, the village hopes to find greater efficiencies through the use of technology, mutual-aid agreements and a more strategic deployment of equipment on calls, she said.

“They wanted us to assume responsibility for being the employer,” fire district Trustee Paul Heinze said. The village also requested that it be billed on a monthly basis only for the services it actually used, Heinze added.

District trustees concluded such financial arrangement wouldn’t work for them, he said.

“We would have considered it if the village had agreed to be a part of our taxing district,” he said. “They refused.”

During the recent talks, the village told the fire district that fire operations made up 42 percent of the village’s budget, Heinze said.

But under the current contract, the fire district pays 62 percent of that to provide staff and equipment needed for its jurisdiction, which includes all or parts of Barrington Hills, Inverness, Lake Barrington, North Barrington, South Barrington and unincorporated Cook, Lake and McHenry counties, he added.

The entire article can be found HERE.

Tags: Barrington & Countryside Fire Protection District, Barrington Fire Department, fire department budget cuts, mutual aid firefighting

Barrington looking for fire department cuts

Nov 30

Posted by bgshap in Fire Department News, Fire Service News | 7 Comments

The Daily Herald has an article which talks about the Village of Barrington looking at the fire department for cost savings.

Though several village departments have experienced layoffs and staff reductions through attrition during the past few years, the fire department hasn’t been among them, Village Manager Jeff Lawler said.

Despite taking pride in a budget trustees already are describing as conservative, village officials have pledged to examine the fire department this year for even greater cost savings.

A familiar theme has popped up throughout the country is the reduced number of fires and the increase in EMS responses. Like many other city councils, there appears to be talk of placing more of the burden on mutual aid companies.

The quest for greater efficiency in costs and equipment deployment will rely heavily on the fact that the majority of fire department calls are medical, and that all structure fires in the region are fought using the mutual aid from several departments anyway, Lawler said.

The entire article can be found HERE.

Tags: Barrington & Countryside Fire Protection District, Barrington Fire Department, Barrington village manager wants other departments to help them reduce their fire department, fire department budget cuts, mutual aid firefighting

Plane crashes in Riverwoods

Nov 29

Posted by bgshap in Apparatus on-scene, Fire Department News, plane crash | 9 Comments

At approximately 10:45PM on Monday, the Lincolnshire-Riverwoods Fire Protection District received a call reporting a brush fire in the 600 block of Portwine Road in Riverwoods. Station 52 companies responded to the address and were unable to locate a brush fire, but they were flagged down by a resident who reported a plane down in a wooded area between two houses down the street.

Firefighters survey the crash site as others inside the plane work to free one of the passengers. Larry Shapiro photo

At the same time RED Center received additional calls reporting a house fire and a plane into a house. As they were filling out the alarm, the Lincolnshire companies found the crash site which was within 30 feet of a house. There was a small fire that was addressed with a pump can and firefighters began assessing the plane’s five occupants, one of which was out of the wreckage of the twin engine plane when crews arrived.

The flight medic is attended to by paramedics before being transported. He sustained several injuries but was out of the wreckage supplying information to the firefighters when they arrived. Larry Shapiro photo

The Chicago Tribune reports that:

The plane, owned by Trans North Aviation, was transporting the patient, his wife, two pilots and a flight paramedic to the Chicago Executive Airport in Wheeling, about five miles south of the crash site, according to Ron Schaberg, owner and president of the South Carolina company.

The patient was being brought to a local medical facility for an undisclosed medical issue, Schaberg said.

The aircraft, which passed a safety inspection earlier that day, picked up the unidentified male patient fromWest Palm Beach, Fla. just before 6 p.m., but made a fuel stop in Jesup, Ga. before continuing on to Chicago Executive, Schaberg said.

The crash came just after the pilot reported that the plane was having a fuel problem.

One of the plane's passengers is loaded into a Buffalo Grove ambulance for transport to Lutheran General Hospital. He later died. Larry Shapiro photo

Three passengers were removed from the plane and transported to Lutheran General and Condell hospitals. Two others were pronounced dead at the scene, and the victim that was transported to Lutheran General Hospital, the patient being transported from Florida, subsequently died.

The debris field is quite large as is the number of trees that were hit by the plane as it descended. Larry Shapiro photo

The wreckage remains in place overnight until investigators can examine the crash site in the daylight. There is a debris field of some 500-1,000 feet through a wooded area which reportedly includes parts high a tree.

plane crash in Riverwoods IL 11-28-11 Prospect Heights Crash Truck

The Prospect Heights Fire Department responded to the scene with this 4x4 Titan ARFF. Larry Shapiro photo

The Chicago Tribune reports that plane to be a Piper Navajo, but the company website states that they fly a Piper Chieftain, and the Travel-Care Air Medical Transport site mentions a Piper Cheyenne II XL operated by Trans North.

Lincolnshire-Riverwoods Squad 51 provided additional scene lighting, power, and water as companies removed the victims from the wreckage. Larry Shapiro photo

Lincolnshire firefighters assist the Lake County Coroner's office personnel with removing one of the victims. Larry Shapiro photo

The rear of the plane spun around into this tree severing the tail section. Larry Shapiro photo

The right side wing and engine of the Piper twin-engine plane. Larry Shapiro photo

Larry Shapiro and Tim Olk were at the scene. Larry has a gallery HERE and Tim has a gallery HERE. Mutual aid came from Deerfield, Long Grove, Libertyville, Countryside, Buffalo Grove, Prospect heights, and Wheeling.

Tags: 3 die from plane crash, Larry Shapiro, Lincolnshire-Riverwoods Fire Protection District, Lincolnshire-Riverwoods FPD, Piper Navajo crashes in Riverwoods IL, plane crash, plane crash in Riverwoods IL, Tim Olk, Trans North Aviation, Travel Care Medical Transport

Joliet firefighters rescue 3 from fire

Nov 28

Posted by bgshap in Fire Department History | Comments off

The Chicago Tribune has an article about a fire yesterday in Joliet which occurred in an apartment building on Twin Oaks Drive. The article states that:

Firefighters rescued three people who were trapped on the third floor of a burning apartment building in Joliet this evening during a blaze that sent four residents to a hospital.

The fire erupted about 5:40 p.m. on the second floor of a 3-story, 12-unit apartment building at 120 Twin Oaks Dr., according to Joliet Fire Capt. Bob Wohlrab.

“The call came in as a kitchen fire,’’ said Joliet Fire Battalion Chief Mike Stromberg. “Crews pulled up and found people hanging out windows on the third floor and heavy smoke.’’

The entire article can be found HERE. Additional articles are HERE and HERE.

Tags: apartment fire in Joliet, Joliet Fire Department, Joliet firefighters rescue victims

Lincolnshire repaints apparatus

Nov 27

Posted by bgshap in Fire Department News | 5 Comments

As previously mentioned, the Lincolnshire-Riverwoods Fire Protection District is changing their apparatus from red with a white roof to red with a black roof. The new Pierce quint arrived with the new scheme and they have since been working on the other front line rigs. Engines 51 and 52 have new paint and graphics and the squad is mid-change as shown below.

Linclonshire-Riverwoods Fire Protection District Engine 51

Lincolnshire Engine 51 with black roof, stripes and new graphics. Larry Shapiro photo

Lincolnshire Engine 51 before the changes. Larry Shapiro photo

Linclonshire-Riverwoods Fire Protection District Squad 51

Lincolnshire Squad 51 has a black roof but the striping and graphics have not yet been updated. Larry Shapiro photo

Linclonshire-Riverwoods Fire Protection District Truck 53

Lincolnshire-Riverwoods Truck 53 as delivered from Pierce. Larry Shapiro photo

Tags: black and red fire apparatus, Larry Shapiro, Lincolnshire-Riverwoods Engine 51, Lincolnshire-Riverwoods Fire Protection District, Lincolnshire-Riverwoods FPD, Lincolnshire-Riverwoods Squad 51, Lincolnshire-Riverwoods Truck 53, repainting fire trucks

Antioch new engine update

Nov 26

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

The Antioch Fire Department and First Fire District are expecting delivery of their new engine from US Tanker by Christmas. The current status of the unit from US Tanker is:

pump has been mounted, body has been mounted, tank next, final body/electrical assembly getting underway

Here is a set of construction photos from the US Tanker web site showing the progression of the new engine.

The pump house assembly frame. US Tanker photo

The body compartments for the driver's side of the engine. US Tanker photo

The Spartan Metro Star cab and chassis as delivered to US Tanker. US Tanker photo

The body assembled with door installation in progress. US Tanker photo

The pump module with the pump assembly and control panel. US Tanker photo

Pump module mounted to the chassis with slide-out trays for the pre-connects. US Tanker photo

Tags: Antioch FIre Department, Antioch First Fire District, new engine for Antioch Fire Department, new engine progress, Spartan, US Tanker

Peotone Fire Protection District update

Nov 25

Posted by bgshap in Fire Department News, New Delivery | Comments off

Another report from Bill Friedrich:

The Peotone FPD has placed two new pieces of apparatus in service. SS10, which came to them from the Normal FD has now been lettered for The Peotone FPD.

Snorkel Squad 10 - 1980 Seagrave with RPI conversion and 1,250-GPM pump with 300 gallons of water and a 50' Snorkel (formerly of Normal, IL). Bill Friedrich photo

In addition, Brush 14 was placed in service in 2011. The skid-unit for this rig came off their old brush truck.

Peontone Brush 14 is a 2011 Ford F-550 pickup with a 125-GPM pump, 250 gallons of water and 20 gallons of foam. The unit was put together by the department. Bill Friedrich photo

Tags: 50' Snorkel on a Seagrave chassis, Bill Friedrich, new brush unit, Normal Fire Department, Peotone Fire Department, Peotone Fire Protection District, Snorkel

Glenview Fire Department Fleet Shot

Nov 24

Posted by bgshap in Fire Department History, Fire Department News, Reader submission | 3 Comments

Tim Olk had the good fortune to get the bulk of the Glenview Fire Department front line fleet assembled for a historic photo. Pictured are Truck 14, Engines 6,7,8,13, Battalion 6, and Ambulances 6 and 8. Ambulance 7 was called away for an EMS run and the balance of the fleet represents the department reserve units.

Glenview Fire Department apparatus fleet

This image shows all but one piece of the frontline Glenview apparatus. Missing is an ambulance 7. Tim Olk photo

Glenview Fire Department Fleet shot Pierce units

Shown here are all of the Glenview Fire Department front line fire suppression units. All were built by Pierce including four with Arrow XT chassis and one Enforcer. Tim Olk photo

Tags: Glenview Fire Department, Glenview Fire Department apparatus fleet, Medtec Ambulance, Pierce Arrow XT, Pierce Arrow XT quint, Pierce Enforcer, Pierce engines, Tim Olk

Barrington Box Alarm 11-23-11

Nov 23

Posted by bgshap in Apparatus on-scene, Fire, Fire Department News | Comments off

The Barrington Fire Department received a call around 8PM this evening reporting a fire at 340 Weatherstone Road. The call came from a neighbor who saw fire outside the garage. First arriving companies were met by heavy fire at the three-car garage and traveling up through the roof encroaching on the main portion of the house. Shortly thereafter a Box Alarm was requested which brought tankers to this non-hydranted subdivision near Lake-Cook and Ela Roads. Fire was in the garage attic and portions of the second floor attic as well before firefighters were able to stop it from spreading further. Both vehicles in the garage were virtually undamaged. The first Barrington engine was in the driveway and was fed by the second engine in front of the house. A porta-tank was dropped by this engine and the tankers kept the water supply consistent.

Larry Shapiro went to the scene and arrived after the fire had been knocked down. He submitted several images from the scene and has a small gallery with additional images HERE.