Chicago had a Still & Box Alarm and an EMS Plan I for a fire on the 10th floor at 5421 S. Cornell Tuesday night (2/23/16).
Brad Bartley photo
Archive for February, 2016
This from Steve Redick:
Here’s some articles from an amazing fire. It occurred right next door to the quarters of engine 42 at 224 W. Illinois. Joseph P. Carone, a member from Truck 31 was killed in a collapse. Look at some of the names mentioned in the article. I have enclosed a Tribune photo I bought of this same fire. Note they also had an extra alarm in a hardware store a few blocks away at the same time.
Warren Redick collection
Warren Redick collection
Chicago Tribune photo from an extra alarm fire at 224 W Illinois in Chicago 12-13-64 where Firefighter Joseph P Carone was killed.
Warren Redick collection
| YEAR | DATE | MONTH | TIME | BOXNO | STNUM | STDIR | STNAME | ALARM | SPECIAL | EMSPLAN | EMSPLANNO | TYPEBLD | TYPECONST | HEIGHT | OCCUPIED | DIMENSION | TRUSS | NOBLDS | PHOTO | PHOTONO | INJURYFF | INJURYFFNO | DEAD | DEADNO | DEADFF | DEADFFNO | DESCRIBE | MONTHNO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | 13 | December | 1031 | 837 | 669-71 | N. | Clark | 3-11 | 0 | S-VA | B | 4 | 60 x 125 | 0 | 01 | -1 | 4065 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| YEAR | DATE | MONTH | TIME | BOXNO | STNUM | STDIR | STNAME | ALARM | SPECIAL | EMSPLAN | EMSPLANNO | TYPEBLD | TYPECONST | HEIGHT | OCCUPIED | DIMENSION | TRUSS | NOBLDS | PHOTO | PHOTONO | INJURYFF | INJURYFFNO | DEAD | DEADNO | DEADFF | DEADFFNO | DESCRIBE | MONTHNO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | 13 | December | 1207 | 826 | 224 | W. | Illinois | 4-11 | 0 | F | B | 6 | 30 x 150 | 0 | 01 | -1 | 4066 | -1 | 005 | 0 | -1 | 001 | 12 |
John Tobin photo
John Tobin photo
Excerpts from theDailyHerald.com:
When fire broke out at the Ben Franklin five-and-dime store on Feb. 23, 1973, John Tobin was a high school senior who lived about a mile from downtown Palatine.
It was early that morning and his father, Dave, then a second lieutenant with the village’s volunteer fire department, had already left for the scene. So had the assistant chief, who lived across the street. Tobin felt he had no choice but to ditch school. He started running toward the fire. Towering over the fire was Palatine’s 1969, [75-foot Snorkel].
But nothing had prepared him for what he saw that morning. Staring at the scene in shock, Tobin heard one firefighter say three others were trapped in the basement.
In his rush to get to the fire, Tobin had forgotten his camera. He ran home to get it and when he got back to downtown Palatine he saw his father working on the fire outside and knew he was safe.
“It wasn’t until hours later we found out who was in there,” Tobin said. Three firefighters were killed — Warren Ahlgrim, Richard Freeman and John Wilson — after they were trapped in the basement filled with carbon monoxide.
The fire was 43 years ago, and Tobin has never forgotten the emotions of that day and how it changed him.All these years he could never get the image of [the Snorkel] out of his mind.
Tracking it down became something like an obsession for him. He heard it had been sold to downstate Salem, Illinois, in 1981. In 2003 he stopped in Salem overnight while driving home from a convention. But by then Salem had sold the truck to Pierceton, Indiana. So he paid a visit.
Earlier this year, Pierceton officials were ready to sell the old truck. They called Tobin, who told them the best he could offer was $5,000. They accepted.
“This is my childhood idol of a truck,” Tobin said.
For the past few days Tobin has been hard at work at the Bartlett Fire Department, where the truck is being housed while he buffs the paint, fixes the lights and creates a tribute to Ahlgrim, Freeman, and Wilson.
“It brings back old memories and it honors those firefighters that were killed that day,” Tobin says.
On Tuesday the restored truck was in downtown Palatine, exactly where it had been 43 years ago, as Palatine held its annual memorial service at the Firefighters Memorial at Brockway and Slade streets.After the memorial service, Tobin plans to keep the truck in a barn on his property in West Dundee.
thanks Dan
The Ben Franklin store fire killed three Palatine firefighters. John Tobin photo
From the Plainfield Fire Protection District:
Michael Ludemann. Plainfield FPD photo
It is with profound sadness and deep regret that the Plainfield Fire Protection District announces the passing of our Emergency Vehicle Technician (EVT) Michael L. Ludemann, Sr., who passed away suddenly on Sunday, February 21, 2016. He was 54 years old.
EVT Michael Ludemann, an 11-year veteran of the Plainfield Fire Protection District, was hired on June 21, 2004. Mike will be remembered by his friends and co-workers as a genuine person that was always willing to help anyone in need. Mike’s sudden passing is profound and will be felt by all the members of his fire family and the community in which he served. Our hearts and deepest condolences go out to his wife Mary and Mike’s family and friends.
Visitation will be Thursday, Feb. 25, from 3 to 8 p.m. at the Overman-Jones Funeral Home & Cremation Services, located at the corner of Routes 30 & 59 in Plainfield. Funeral Services will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, Feb. 26 at St. John Lutheran Church, located at 2650 Plainfield Rd. in Joliet. Interment will follow at Plainfield Township Cemetery.
thanks Dan
From the Herald-News.com:
The Plainfield Fire Protection District lost a treasured friend when emergency vehicle technician Michael L. Ludemann died suddenly Sunday. Fire Chief David Riddle said Ludemann’s wife, fire district inspector and spokeswoman, Mary Kay Ludemann, told him Michael wasn’t feeling well Sunday. He was taken to Edward Hospital in Naperville, where he died Sunday afternoon.
“The mood has been very somber here,” Riddle said. “He had no previous history we were aware of that indicated something like this.”
Michael Ludemann fixed and maintained the fire district’s vehicles, but he also made close friendships with those from other Plainfield agencies. Before working for the Plainfield fire district, Ludemann did repair work for the Lockport Township and Downers Grove fire districts.
Riddle said Michael Ludemann touched the lives of everybody who worked with him since he came to the district in 2004. He was well-liked and known as the go-to guy around the fire district.
Riddle said the fire district will honor Michael Ludemann by holding a solemn walk-through at his wake.
This from Josh Boyajian:
Cicero had a working fire @ 2347 s 50th ave Saturday night. F12 arrived to find fire showing from both B&D sides. They had two lines lead out and main to roof. Companies made a quick aggressive attack and knocked the fire fairly fast.
Josh Boyajian photo
Josh Boyajian photo
Josh Boyajian photo
Josh Boyajian photo
Josh Boyajian photo
Josh Boyajian photo
Josh Boyajian photo
This from Mike Summa:
Hello there,I took my family to a fire show in the early 1990s in Chicago Ridge. I snapped this picture of Oak Lawn’s then-new Ward LaFrance engine, turned into a squad truck. Thought that I’d like to share.Thank you,Mike S.
Oak Lawn Squad 1. Mike Summa photo
Excerpts from theChicagoTribune.com:
The La Grange Fire Department is slated to receive a $122,000 grant to purchase new self-contained breathing apparatus … the village board unanimously approved moving forward with the purchase.
The funds are provided through the Department of Homeland Security, Assistance to Firefighters grant program. The grant will pay about $122,000 of the cost and the village will pay another $7,000.
The existing equipment is about 15 years old and the end of its useful life, said Fire Chief Donald J. Gay.
Gay said a committee helped put together the application for the grant, which they had not received on prior attempts.
thanks Dan
Excerpts from the HeraldNews.com:
Plainfield Fire Protection District Chief David Riddle said recently that he has told staff to stop buying certain items after he acknowledged the district may have misused public funds on purchases last year.
The action comes after the Edgar County Watchdogs, revealed that the fire district had, between August 2014 and November 2015, used more than $11,900 on what it deemed questionable purchases made on fire district credit cards. Those items included Christmas gifts, edible arrangements, flowers, massages, food, and parties.
“The changes are immediate,” Riddle said. “I’ve told staff that we’re not buying flowers or edible arrangements for immediate family members of those that passed away [among other purchases].”
Riddle also said he will be more involved with oversight of the district’s Foreign Fire Tax Board, which also was targeted by the watchdog group for spending more than $12,000 on 150 personalized blankets and throw pillows for staff and others in November and December.
Riddle said purchases such as the blankets and pillows, which were paid for by the board, will also stop immediately.
“That’s all we can ask for,” Kraft said about Riddle’s response to the watchdog group’s reports. “Except for maybe reimbursement [to the taxpayers] from whomever was doing the purchasing, we generally ask that they just quit doing it.”
The credit card purchases include more than $1,325 for the annual Turkey Raffle charity auction, $1,300 in Christmas gifts, $1,490 for a retirement party, $724 in edible arrangements, $165 in flowers, $714 for a hog roast, $67.99 for corncob pipes, $75 for massages, and $6,045 for food and parties.
Riddle said he agreed with some of the watchdog group’s assessment, noting that flowers and other gifts have often been sent to the loved ones of people who recently died. “I can make a case that some of these purchases support the fire department,” Riddle said. “But on the other hand, it may not be a good use of taxpayer money.”
Riddle became chief about a year ago, but he said he thinks the purchases were part of traditions started decades ago when the district was a volunteer agency.
thanks Dan
As seen in New Lenox
Feb 22
From NFFF:
There’s no question that the number of firefighters affected by cancer is on the rise. That’s why prevention is critical. But many firefighters may not follow the advice of researchers and experts because they think it will never happen to them.
“No matter who you are. No matter where you are. No matter what type of a firefighter you are. You are subjected to cancer-causing agents,” Chief Ernest Mitchell, Jr., U.S. Fire Administrator
Firefighters and authorities who’ve dealt with cancer first-hand or who’ve watched others battle it share their stories in “The Silent Killer: Firefighter Cancer”. Hear what they have to say about why cancer-prevention is so important.
“It has nothing to do with what size department you’re with. Even the frequency of the emergency calls you’re on,
because it only takes one.”– Chief Dennis Compton, Chairman of the Board, NFFF
