Archive for November 16th, 2017

Of interest … Leaf River Fire Department (more)

Excerpts from saukvalley.com

A memorial has been set up to help a firefighting family whose son died in a fire and two others who were seriously injured in the blaze that consumed their home shortly before 1 a.m. Friday.

About 300 people attended a candlelight vigil Sunday at Leaf River Fire Station to honor 19-year-old Greg Wood, a first-year firefighter who died in the fire at 209 W. Second St., just a block from the station.

His father, Marcus Wood, deputy chief of the volunteer fire department, is in fair condition at OSF St. Anthony Medical Center and his brother Travis, 16, a cadet firefighter, is in good condition at Mercyhealth Hospital, both in Rockford. His mother Nicole, an EMT for the department, was treated at Mercyhealth and released.

It’s the first time a Leaf River firefighter has died in a fire, Chief Steve Shelton said.

A procession of vehicles from area departments escorted the Ogle County Coroner’s vehicle as it took Wood’s body to the morgue, and a moment of silence was observed at Saturday’s Forreston High School football game.

The cause of the fire in the two-story wood-frame home has not yet been determined, but is not considered suspicious. State police, the State Fire Marshal’s Office, and the Ogle County Sheriff’s Department are investigating.

The Leaf River Fire Department has set up a fund for the family at German American State Bank. Checks can be sent to the bank at P.O. Box 89, German Valley, IL 61039, or dropped off at any branch, with “Woods family” in the memo field.

Funeral arrangements have not yet been made.

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Vintage 5-11 Alarm fire in Chicago, 3-25-66

This from Eric Haak:

These images come to you from the early morning hours of March 25, 1966. This was a 5-11 +1 special at 3951 South Canal Street. The building was owned at the time by the Siegmund Warner Company which produced some sort of sporting goods. The interesting thing is that the larger building that you see the fire building attched to still exists and has been vacant for a while. The 5th image shows a collapse in progress. The 6th image is taken looking north towards Pershing and both of the buildings in the background still stand. The last photo is looking west towards Normal Avenue. Still time is recorded as 0451. Hope you enjoy!

massive fire in Chicago in 1966 vintage Chicago police cars

March 25, 1966. This was a 5-11 +1 special at 3951 South Canal Street in Chicago. The building was owned at the time by the Siegmund Warner Company. From the collection of Eric Haak, photographer unknown

massive fire in Chicago in 1966

From the collection of Eric Haak, photographer unknown

massive fire in Chicago in 1966 with Snorkel working

From the collection of Eric Haak, photographer unknown

massive fire in Chicago in 1966 with Snorkel working

From the collection of Eric Haak, photographer unknown

massive fire in Chicago in 1966 with Snorkel working

From the collection of Eric Haak, photographer unknown

vintage Chicago FD Snorkels Snorkel Squad 1

From the collection of Eric Haak, photographer unknown

vintage Chicago FD Snorkels Snorkel Squad 1

From the collection of Eric Haak, photographer unknown

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Bridgeview Fire Department history

This from Mike Summa:

TBT- This was Bridgeview Fire Department’s 1987 KME 1871/Darley 1500/750 E416. Photo taken before switch to white over red. Enjoy and comment.
Mike Summa

ridgeview Fire Department Engine 416

Bridgeview Fire Department 1987 KME 1871/Darley 1500/750 Engine 416.Mike Summa photo

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North Riverside considers privatizing the fire department (more)

Excerpts from the rblandmark.com:

Despite an assurance from the North Riverside mayor in October that the village was through trying to privatize firefighting services through the courts, on Nov. 3 the village’s law firm filed a petition asking the Illinois Supreme Court to hear the case.

In the petition, the village’s attorney argues that the Illinois Court of Appeals created significant constitutional issues by ruling that an apparent contract impasse had to be resolved through an Illinois Labor Relations Board arbitrator.

The ruling, according to the village granted constitutionally prohibited special privileges and gives labor arbitrators power the Illinois General Assembly never intended.

The village continues to claim, as it has throughout the more than 3-year-old court case, that it has the unilateral right to terminate its contractual relationship with union firefighters, whose most recent deal ended April 30, 2014. The village attorney also argues that it has the right to outsource work performed by union members, based on an appellate court ruling concerning a school district that outsourced bus-driving jobs formerly held by union members.

That appellate ruling creates a conflict with the North Riverside ruling, the village argues, which necessitates intervention and clarification by the state’s Supreme Court.

The mayor admitted that it’s unlikely the Supreme Court will accept the case and said he expects the dispute between the village and the firefighters’ union to wind up before an arbitrator, as directed by the appellate court.

“We’ll go full-blown arbitration to dissect the contract and start from scratch,’ the mayor said. “The arbitrator can hopefully meet in the middle ground and come up with something that’s fair to both sides.”

Why petition the Supreme Court at all, and incur additional expenses? The mayor says that the village’s law firm pledged to file the petition without charge.

According to a spokeswoman at the Chicago office of the Supreme Court clerk, the soonest the court may announce a decision on whether to hear the case is the end of January 2018.

The attorney representing North Riverside Firefighters Union Local 2714 said he will file a response to the motion before the Nov. 27 deadline and that the village’s theory of how to interpret the Illinois Labor Relations Act turns decades of accepted law on its head.

thanks Dan

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