This from Ron Wolkoff
Found this on Horton’s website. It replaces a 2004 Horton/Ford F350
Ronald D Wolkoff
New ambulance for Wilmington. Horton photo
Archive for November, 2013
An article in the Chicago Sun-Times now addresses overtime costs by the fire department with alderman grilling CFD Fire Commissioner Santiago.
The Chicago Fire Department will spend $43 million on overtime this year — more than double the amount authorized — because of “legal issues” tied to past discrimination lawsuits that prevented the department from hiring firefighters, a top mayoral aide said Monday.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported Friday that Chicago will hold its first firefighters entrance exam in eight years in 2014 amid runaway overtime that has gone from $13.5 million in 2011 to a projected $35.3 million in 2014. Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s 2013 budget includes $20 million for Fire Department overtime. But Chicago Fire Commissioner Jose Santiago acknowledged Monday that actual overtime spending will be $43 million.
“There was a series of legal issues that the Fire Department had to work through with the Law Department that actually effectively stopped us from hiring. The city of Chicago could not hire firefighters,” said Santiago, on the hot seat at City Council budget hearings.
“We have resolved those issues. . . . Nov. 18, we will have 150 people at the academy to start attacking this overtime. We have a series of classes after that. As soon as one class gets to the halfway point, we will have another class [of] 150 people. And then, another class. This should be able to take care of all the vacancies that are there and any of the people who start to retire later on.”
Santiago projected that 245 firefighters will retire in 2013. Full strength — including uniformed and civilian employees — is roughly 5,100. The Fire Department currently has 4,700 employees.
Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd) questioned why there wasn’t more pushback from the Fire Department, considering the minimum-staffing requirement that triggered the bitter 1980 firefighters strike. The firefighters contract requires that every piece of fire apparatus be staffed by at least five employees.
In marathon contract talks, Emanuel has insisted that “double houses” that include both engines and trucks be staffed by nine firefighters instead of 10. The Chicago Firefighters Union Local 2 has strongly resisted the change.
“When you were having discussions with the Law Department, did anybody bring up the fact that you might have to do more overtime to make up for the loss of manpower? . . . Did anybody do a calculation of what that effect might be?” Waguespack said.
First Deputy Fire Commissioner Charles Stewart said no such calculation was done. But Santiago stressed that the alarm was sounded during “many meetings” with the Law Department and the Office of Budget and Management. “We constantly brought up the fact that we have a problem here. We can’t hire. We have people retiring. You’ve got to help us out. We have a hiring plan we put together and we could not implement it,” Santiago said.
“Many meetings were conducted. It was always brought up to them [that], ‘We need help somehow. We need to hire people or the overtime is going to go right through the ceiling,’ which it has.”
Waguespack persisted, wondering whether it was “mandatory not to hire” or optional. Stewart replied, “It was strongly recommended that, until the legal issues are resolved, that we not hire a class. We made sure they were aware of manning needs. But that was their recommendation we had to follow.”
Earlier this year, the City Council agreed to spend nearly $2 million — and $1.7 million more in legal fees — to compensate dozens of women denied firefighter jobs because of a discriminatory test of physical abilities that City Hall has now scrapped. Last year, Chicago borrowed the $78.4 million needed to compensate nearly 6,000 African-American would-be firefighters bypassed by the city’s discriminatory handling of a 1995 entrance exam. The borrowing compounded the cost of a settlement that was twice as high as anticipated.
The city had already agreed to hire 111 bypassed black firefighters. The cash damages went to about 5,900 others who never got that chance.
Older firefighters are not the only problem confronting the Fire Department. There’s also the issue of aging equipment.
The “desired” life span for fire engines and hook-and-ladders is six years. In Chicago, the average for both is just over 11 years. For fire trucks, the ideal life span is 7.5 years. In Chicago, the average age is 15 years. Ambulances are supposed to last 2.5 years but have been on the street in Chicago for 6.2 years.
The city expects to purchase 25 new ambulances this year and has “re-chassised” four others, Santiago said.
Also on Monday, Santiago reassured aldermen that the Fire Department is meeting state mandates by responding to fires in an average of 3 minutes and 35 seconds and to medical emergencies in 5 minutes and 5 seconds.
“We base that measure on how long it takes the first fire company to arrive after the alarm goes out,” the commissioner said.
In a recent report, Inspector General Joe Ferguson measured it differently, then accused the Fire Department of response times that fail to meet national standards.
That prompted Ald. Anthony Beale (9th) to put Santiago on notice.
“I want you to work with the inspector general to make sure that, when the next report comes out, the 9th Ward is not reflected as being last” in response times, Beale said.
“Even though we’re only talking seconds, when somebody’s life is on the line, seconds count. Do whatever you have to do to make sure that, if there’s a problem, it’s fixed. Obviously, there’s a problem with how we’re adding or subtracting these numbers. Fix this problem. Please do not come back next year with the 9th Ward being last.”
thanks Dan
Several news outlets have stories about this morning’s house fire in Arlington Heights that claimed three lives.
Three adults died when a fire broke out in a home in Arlington Heights overnight, according to authorities.
Emergency crews were called to the two-story brick house in the 300 block of South Dunton Avenue around 3:20 a.m., Police Cmdr. Mike Hernandez said. The call was prompted by a police sergeant who smelled smoke while driving in the area.
Police had been in the area, but by the time firefighters arrived, the fire had spread through the single-family home, Ericksen said. There were no smoke detectors sounding when responders arrived, though the fire department said it wasn’t clear if smoke alarms were present.
As crews were arriving, part of the building collapsed. “It collapsed right when we arrived, a portion of the rear on the second floor,” Ericksen said.
Responding firefighters found a female victim in a downstairs bedroom who they removed from the burning house through a window. She was pronounced dead at the scene, the fire officials said. Two other victims were located inside and were also pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators from the Illinois State Fire Marshall’s Office and the Arlington Heights fire and police departments were on the scene, a standard response for fatal fires, Hernandez said. The Cook County medical examiner’s office was sending an investigator to the scene.
It’s still unknown where or how the fire started, but the most extensive damage is to the back of the three-bedroom house. One corner of the second floor has collapsed, said Arlington Heights Police Capt. Richard Niedrich. “Right now, there is nothing pointing to us that it’s obviously suspicious, that shows it’s suspicious,” Hernandez said. “It’s a death investigation until we know more, until we know the origin of the fire, the cause.”
Investigators are still on the scene of a house fire in Arlington Heights that killed three people overnight including the elderly woman who owned the home.
Arlington Heights Fire Chief Glenn Ericksen said the victims were all found on the first floor of the two-story Cape Cod home on the 300 block of South Dunton Avenue.
When firefighters arrived at 3:20 a.m., fire had engulfed the home and parts of the second floor had collapsed onto the first floor.
They removed an unconscious female victim through a downstairs bedroom window, who was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said. When firefighters were able to enter the home, they found two other victims near the front door, who were also pronounced dead at the scene. One of the victims was buried in rubble from the collapsed second floor, according to a police source.
The fire was discovered by a police sergeant on patrol who smelled smoke around 3:15 a.m. near the police station at Arlington Heights Road and Sigwalt Street and sent officers looking for the source.
No smoke detectors were sounding when they arrived to see fire and heavy smoke coming from the home. It is unknown at this time if any smoke detectors were present within the house, police said.
It appears that the fire started in a back bedroom, police Cmdr. Mike Hernandez said. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Ericksen said investigators have no reason at this time to believe the fire is suspicious.
“It’s very sad,” Ericksen said “We’ll do the best job we can do determine why this happened.”
Officials have not yet been able to identify one of the victims, so they are withholding all three names for now, Hernandez said.
Autopsies will be performed on Thursday, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Frank Soprano, who runs an Arlington Heights accounting and tax firm, said Wednesday afternoon the homeowner was one of the three victims.
Soprano, who had been handling the woman’s finances, described her as an elderly lady who lived there for many years.
Multiple media outlets have reported on a Ford recall for ambulance chassis:
Ford is recalling about 3,100 F-Series ambulances because the engines can stop unexpectedly.
The F-350, F-450 and F-550 “Super Duty” ambulances have 6.7-Liter diesel engines. They’re from the 2011 and 2012 model years.
Ford says a faulty exhaust gas temperature sensor can cause the engines to stop and not be restarted for at least an hour. The company says it has no reports of the problem affecting patient care. Most of the ambulances were sold in the U.S., with some in Canada and other countries.
Dealers will replace the sensor.
Ford says the problem could occur on non-ambulance versions of the same trucks, but the company isn’t recalling them. Drivers will get a warning and enough time to safely pull off the road before the engine shuts down.
thanks Chris
9AM – Berwyn and mutual-aid companies are on the scene of a fire in the Burger King restaurant at 3441 S. Harlem Avenue.
This from Josh Boyajian:
Here are some of my pictures from Berwyn this morning.Box Alarm @ 35th and Harlem, Burger King-Josh
Josh Boyajian photo
Josh Boyajian photo
Josh Boyajian photo
Josh Boyajian photo
Josh Boyajian photo
Josh Boyajian photo
Josh Boyajian photo
An ammonia leak in Itasca led to the evacuation of buildings downwind of the ITW building, located at 1349 Bryn Mawr in the northwestern suburb.
Employees noticed the leaking tank and called officials at 9:22 a.m. HAZMAT crews responded.
There are no reports of injuries or illness. The evacuated buildings are all businesses, not residential, officials said.
Tim Olk submitted images from the scene.
Tim Olk photo
Tim Olk photo
Tim Olk photo
Tim Olk photo
Tim Olk photo
Tim Olk photo
Tim Olk photo
Tim has an extensive gallery HERE.
These photos by Tim Olk are from the bell ringing ceremony on Saturday for the late CFD Captain Herbie Johnson.
Tim Olk photo
Tim Olk photo
Tim Olk photo
Tim Olk photo
This from Josh Boyajian:
Here is a follow up to the post the other day. Here is a shot I took today of River Forest’s new Smeal ladder truck 219. From my understanding, it will follow the engine on all in-town fire calls. Also it will be going into surrounding towns auto-aid including Maywood.ThanksJosh
River Forest Truck 219. Josh Boyajian photo
