Archive for October, 2019

New engine for Chicago (more)

This from Danny Nelms:

Engine 11 went in service october 15th 2019.

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New truck for Elmhurst

Elmhurst Fire Department request for new fire truck rom Pierce Pierce Enforcer Ascendent quint

thanks Tim

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Park Ridge Fire Department news

click here for the gofundme page

 

Fundraiser for Park Ridge FD FF/PM Mike Isolm

click on the file to download it

Excerpts from the dailychronicle.com:

A fire at about 1 a.m Thursday in Malta claimed the home of one of Malta Fire Department’s own. There were no injuries, but the home of Fire Capt. Mike Isom and his family in the 500 block of East Jefferson Street was destroyed. The family stayed with friends overnight.

The Malta Fire Department had assistance from fire departments in DeKalb, Creston, Shabbona, Kirkland, as well as Genoa EMS.

 

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Dekalb Fire Department history (more)

Excerpts from northernstarinfo.com:

Saturday, DeKalb firefighters celebrated 150 years of serving the city. The event was held in the Barsema Alumni Center from 5 to 10 p.m. Firefighters, friends, and family gathered to commemorate past and current firefighters. Attendees stepped into a cocktail hour as soon as they entered the foyer.  There were speeches and a PowerPoint presentation.  History played a major role in the celebration. DeKalb’s fire department began as a volunteer-only operation in 1869. During that time, DeKalb was a growing community that needed protection from fire. The slideshow gave details about DeKalb’s fire department, the men that served and major fires during that time. The presentation ended with the mission for the department’s future endeavors.

The event was sponsored by the DeKalb Firefighters Historical Foundation, which was founded in 2012.

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Cortland Fire Department news

benefit for firefighter

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New engine for Joliet (more)

From the Fire Service, In. Facebook page:

Final inspection of Joliet Engine 1 at E-ONE.

new E-ONE fire engine

Fire Service, Inc. photo

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East St Louis Fire Department news

Excerpts from stltoday.com:

The city of East St. Louis announced Tuesday it would lay off nine firefighters at the end of the month and temporarily shut down a fire station Nov. 1 at 1700 Central Avenue.

The city manager said in a letter to a firefighter that the city had to make difficult decisions amid a $5.5 million deficit in the city budget. In the layoff notice, the manager cited the city’s handbook for firefighters, which says the city may separate any employee because of lack of funds. The affected firefighters were told to turn in their uniforms and other city belongings at the end of the month.

In a city of about 26,000 people in 14 square miles, the fire department has long been troubled by layoffs and budget deficits. Following a 2013 ruling from the Illinois Labor Relations Board, the city was ordered to pay firefighters a total of $382,259.82 for lost wages, pension contributions, medical contributions, and more.  The labor board found the city to have violated its contract by reducing the number of total staff and not offering the same wage increase as it did to the police bargaining unit.

East St. Louis announced in 2013 it would lay off about a third of the department, but a month later the city avoided cuts after coming to an agreement with the union.

“This is a very difficult decision that had to be made in order to sustain city operations for the next few months,” a statement said Tuesday. “Unfortunately, with 100% of the city’s state revenues being redirected to the police and fire pensions, we are faced with the difficult task of strategically reducing some services in order to continue to meet our financial obligations for the next few months.”

The firefighters’ union contract ended in 2015, and the union and city have not come to terms on a new one. However, the old agreement, which both the city and union still honor, says the city must maintain 58 firefighters.  A memorandum agreement passed in 2015 allowed the department to reduce staff by 25%, but that memorandum expired in 2016.

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2-11 Alarm fire in Chicago, 10-14-19 (more)

More from Steve Redick on the 2-11 Alarm fire in Chicago, 10-14-19

I was late getting to this job and even so as I arrived they declared an emergency evacuation and sounded the horns as an internal collapse had just occurred. Got some decent shots but was shooting into the sun quite a bit and the low hanging smoke made photos difficult. This was an unusual building with some difficult access issues.
All the images can be seen here:
fire engine on a hydrant

Steve Redick photo

Chicago fire truck at scene

Steve Redick photo

Chicago fire truck at scene

Steve Redick photo

Chicago Firefighters battle a fire

Steve Redick photo

Chicago Firefighters battle a fire

Steve Redick photo

fire engines with hose on the ground

Steve Redick photo

Chicago Firefighters battle a fire

Steve Redick photo

Chicago FD Squad 1A

Steve Redick photo

Chicago Firefighters battle a fire

Steve Redick photo

Chicago Firefighters battle a fire

Steve Redick photo

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2-11 Alarm fire in Chicago, 10-14-19 (more)

Excerpts from abc7chicago.com:

Chicago fire officials said a blaze started shortly after 3 p.m. Monday afternoon in the 800-block of West Gunnison Street and was struck out around 6:30 p.m., though crews remained at the scene to battle hot spots. The damage to the building is such that relocation of residents will be required.

“Our companies had a hard time getting water on the fire due to the fact that it was in the rear of the structure, and we couldn’t get right up on it,” said Assistant Deputy Fire Commissioner of Operations Barry Garr.

Residents said someone was working on the building’s plumbing in the basement. Firefighters smashed top floor windows, temporarily feeding the fire to then try and contain it. Hours into the losing battle fire ate away at the roof.

“That’s when you heard the horns sound and everything indicating to the firemen, ‘Drop what you’re doing and get out. I don’t like what I see,'” Garr said.

A CFD battalion chief was hit on the head by falling debris, he was wearing a helmet at the time, and was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in stable condition. No residents were injured.

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New home for Elmwood Park fire truck

The former Elmwood Park toweled ladder was sold and is now Bondurand (IA) Tower 413

new home for Elmwood Park fire truck

Former Elmwood Park FD (IL) fire truck is now in Bonduarant, IA

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