Archive for March 17th, 2017

Bartlett Fire Protection District news

Excerpts from the ChicagoTribune.com:

Bartlett Fire Protection District Fire Chief Mike Falese says that a property tax increase on the April 4 ballot would add about $33.49 a year to a home in Cook County valued at $100,000 and about $42.84 for a similarly-valued DuPage County and would prevent cuts to services and allow performance at a higher standard. He will address a community meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, March 20, at Fire Station #1, 234 N. Oak Ave.

While he said the board and fire district staff are not trying to scare voters, the reality now is that cuts have been made and maintenance has been deferred to the point that the situation is much more dire.

“We can perform well and have a good outcome, or we can perform in a way that isn’t as efficient and have a good outcome sometimes,” Falese said.

The questions asks voters to increase the property tax limitation from the state-mandated lesser of 5 percent or the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index 19.5 percent for levy year 2017.

Since 2014, the district has used reserve funds for operational expenses and the reserves will be depleted in the 2018 fiscal year. This year, the district already had to spend $50,000 of its reserves just to balance the budget.

To cut expenses, the district has eliminated an assistant fire chief, one full-time firefighter/paramedic position, and reduced the number of paid on-call personnel. Apparatus replacement has been deferred, but can no longer be put off without jeopardizing firefighters and residents.

“We have sold apparatus and reduced equipment to cut expenses. We have modified our health care plan four times to reduce premiums,” Falese said.

Turnout gear, fire hose, and breathing apparatus hasn’t been replaced, and the heat and air conditioning system at Station 1 has not been repaired since one of the three units broke down last summer.

The district covers about 40 square miles, and responds to 4,000 emergency alarms each year from three stations. It’s annual budget is $7.9 million with $6.6 million coming from property taxes and the remainder from ambulance billing. Of that, about $1.1 million is health care costs even though firefighters are picking up a larger portion of the medical insurance cost.

The Medicaid portion of ambulance billing has been dropping and will not increase, Falese said. “We have increased the ambulance fees, but are receiving less,” because of lower Medicaid reimbursements.

Emergency calls are quickly outpacing revenue and expenditure. A new industrial park and senior living residences have increased the call volume.

“If doesn’t pass — we don’t want to it sound like a threat,” Falese said, “we would have to start considering options for 2018 and this year. We will start to look at personnel and facilities to adjust and where we respond from, including the possibility of closing one of the fire stations and rotating crews through the remaining buildings.

“That would be a lesser level of service,” Falese said.

thanks Dan

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Highland Fire Department news

Excerpts from the Bellevillenews-democrat.com:

On Thursday, a series of events began at 5:15 a.m. in Glen Carbon, Illinois, when fire broke out at a home owned by Cristy Lynn Campbell. An adult died in the fire but six children, siblings ranging up to age 14, escaped. Glen Carbon is about 30 miles east of St. Louis.

Sheriff John Lakin said the person killed has not been identified, but Campbell’s estranged husband and the father of the children, Justin Campbell, has not been accounted for.

Some of the children ran to a nearby Wal-Mart, others to a home in the neighborhood. The kids at the Wal-Mart asked an arriving worker to call 911, Lakin said.

Cristy Campbell was not in the home when firefighters arrived nor was the couple’s seventh child, a 3-month-old boy.

At 5:31 a.m., a motorist passing near Silver Lake in Highland, Illinois, about 16 miles from the home, saw a car heading down a hill toward the water and called 911.

Highland Fire Department Paramedic Todd Zobrist, jumped into the 46-degree water and swam 50 to 75 feet to the SUV, where he found a baby floating inside the car. He pulled the baby by the arm to the hood of the SUV, where he began CPR, then swam with the child to shore.

The child, initially unresponsive, is expected to recover and could be released Friday from a hospital in St. Charles, Missouri.

After finding the baby, authorities began searching the water. A body was pulled from the lake around 11:15 a.m., and while the body has not been identified, police are no longer searching for Cristy Campbell.

Court records showed that Cristy Campbell and Justin Campbell, 37, had a volatile relationship.

In 2005, before they were married, Justin was charged with domestic abuse for allegedly attacking Cristy, then known as Cristy Brueggemann, by slapping her in the head when she was pregnant. He was sentenced in March 2006 to probation and fined $500.

Despite the violence they were married on Nov. 3, 2006. She filed for legal separation in September 2010, but the matter was dismissed two months later.

In April 2012, she obtained an emergency protection order against her husband and filed for divorce, alleging frequent abuse including being punched and choked.

The divorce was granted in February 2013.

Lakin said Glen Carbon police have answered several calls to Campbell’s home, including some domestic-related situations.

Authorities said the children are with Illinois authorities and will be placed with relatives.

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Barrington Countryside FPD news

Excerpts from the DailyHerald.com:

At the beginning of the month, The Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District left CenCom 9-1-1 to join  Northwest Central Dispatch System.

Deputy Fire Chief Donald Wenschhof III said the switch provides stronger, wider-ranging radio coverage throughout the district.

Barrington Countryside serves portions of Barrington Hills, South Barrington, Lake Barrington and Inverness; and portions of unincorporated Cook, Lake and McHenry counties.

The district used CenCom’s services since its split from the Barrington Fire Department in 2014.

thanks Drew

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As seen around … Grayslake

From the Grayslake FD Twitter page:

Well Played Grayslake Police….Well Played!

parking ticket on fire engine parking ticket on fire engine

thanks Dan

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