Archive for October 15th, 2018

Cancer in the fire service

Excerpts from the valleycentral.com:

After a long legal battle, a judge ruled in favor of Homer Salinas – a Mission, TX firefighter denied workmen’s compensation after he was diagnosed with kidney cancer.

The city’s insurance carrier claimed that his diagnosis was unrelated to his work and refused to cover treatment costs, but Salinas appealed that decision last November and finally got the answer he’d been waiting for. But the fight could continue.

It remains unknown whether or not there will be an appeal on the court’s ruling. 

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Evanston Fire Department news (more)

Excerpts from the dailynorthwestern.com:

A $1.2 million cut to the Evanston Fire Department in the city’s proposed 2019 budget would mean eliminating nine positions and shutting down Station 4, which has led to pushback from current and former EFD personnel as well as city residents. The suggested reduction is the largest for any city department and follows a 2018 budget cut of $288,762 for EFD.

Station 4 — located at 1817 Washington St. — is in the 2nd Ward and services the southwest region of Evanston. The city manager said if city council approves the proposed budget in November, the building that houses Station 4 will be sold and nearby stations will take over for the area.

However, in an email to The Daily, Evanston Fire Local 742 union executive board members Ryan Roeder and Billy Lynch said recklessly closing Station 4 would compromise the safety that Evanston residents deserve by causing delays in service. They said the city’s five fire stations are strategically situated to respond to emergencies.

According to EFD’s 2017 Annual Report, the department responded to just over 10,000 emergency calls last year. Former EFD Chief Greg Klaiber wrote in an Oct. 7 Facebook post that 1,173 of those calls were located in the neighborhood serviced by Station 4, which is typically staffed by one captain, two firefighter/paramedics, and one fire engine.

Evanston and Northwestern are serviced by only two ambulances and seven firefighter/paramedic-staffed vehicles — five engines and two trucks. According to the proposed budget, after Station 4 is shut down, its fire engine will also be removed from service. According to Klaiber, engines located at Madison Street and Emerson Street would have to cover the area, resulting in increased response times.

Roeder and Lynch’s joint statement echoed Klaiber’s post, calling the proposed closure particularly concerning because of the already limited resources that EFD has. On top of that, they said the number of EMS calls has more than doubled in recent decades, though there has been no increase in the number of responding personnel. The proposed budget’s decrease of nine EFD positions — one layoff of an active firefighter/paramedic and the elimination of eight vacant spots — would only increase the strain,.

The city will hold a public hearing about the budget on Oct. 27, and each ward will be hosting informal budget review sessions through Oct. 24. Residents can also use the city website to comment on the proposal before the final vote in November.

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New Lenox Fire Protection District news

Excerpts from the herald-news.com:

The New Lenox Fire Protection District was able to buy new radios with a $144,208 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The district’s current portable radios are 10 to 12 years old.

The new Motorola dual band radios will ensure all NLFPD firefighters will be using the same type of radio. The new radios have larger buttons, which are easier for firefighters to use with a gloved hand and have the most up-to-date safety features. They also will increase the NLFPD’s ability to communicate with law enforcement agencies and other public safety agencies locally and nationally.

The radios also will allow the NLFPD to adapt to an 800 mHz radio system in the future without added costs related to buying or infrastructure.

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Chicago Fire Department history

This from Dan McInerney:

Chicago Fire Department – Engine 78 pushing out, 3/14/94

Seen taking a picture is Matthew Negedly, an Orlando FD district chief who passed away in November of 2016. We left here and took in a 2-11 alarm in Beverly

  

Chicago FD engine 78 circa 1974

Dan McInerney photo

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