Firefighters in Arlington Heights responded to a fire at 1106 N Chestnut around 4AM Friday (1/10/20). Companies had fire in an attached garage on arrival. The incident was later elevated to a MABAS Box Alarm with mutual aid from Buffalo Grove, Mt. Prospect, Rolling Meadows, Wheeling, Palatine, and Prospect Heights.
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
From ldvusa.com:
LDV recently completed two specialty vehicles for the Arlington Heights Fire Department. Each was built on a 2019 Ford F-550 gasoline XL crew cab, 4×4 chassis with a custom designed aluminum box. There are compartments with slide-out tool trays, box pan shelves for equipment storage. Pull-out steps on both the streetside and curbside of each vehicle were included. The rear bumper is custom fabricated aluminum with Diamondback serrated plank tread surface with a flip-down rear step.The interior compartments are coated with a Zolatone™ finish and areas that will see more heavy use were coated with Line-X™. LED strip lighting is inside the compartments for night operations. There is a Warn™ M12-S heavyweight winch capable of pulling 12,000 lbs. mounted at the front bumper.
A Zone Defense color backup camera system was installed to ease parking maneuvers. The front passenger area includes a custom center console to house electrical distribution equipment and controls. We also installed the customer-supplied radios with magnetic radio microphones.
The vehicles are finished black and red to match the fleet with simulated gold leaf lettering.
LDV photo
thanks Keith
Excerpts from the DailyHerald.com:
A lightning strike caused $10,000 in damage to a townhouse on the north side of Arlington Heights as a strong line of thunderstorms moved through the area Friday.
Fire department investigators believe the lightning may have hit an antenna or cable satellite on top of the four-unit townhouse building on the 1600 block of West Hawkes Street, then traveled along a cable line to the interior of the building. That’s where firefighters found some drywall and insulation damaged in an attic and common hallway on the building’s second floor.
Firefighters saw smoke when they got to the building just after 11 a.m., but once inside, they found the small fire already self-extinguished.
Rolling Meadows firefighters were sent to 2905 W. Algonquin Road Wednesday afternoon (4/24/19) for smoke in the building. This was the Egg’lectic Cafe. The alarm was upgraded to a Code 4 and later a MABAS Box Alarm when fire was discovered in the attic. The fire was contained to the attic area. An incomplete list of companies at the scene included: Rolling Meadows Engines 15 and 16, Ambulances 15 and 16, plus Battalion 15 and the department chiefs; Palatine Engine 84, Tower 84, Squad 85, Battalion 8, and two chief officers; Arlington Heights Tower 1, Engine 2, Engine 3, Ambulance 3, and a chief officer; Palatine Rural Engine 36 and a chief officer; Schaumburg Engine 52 and Squad 55; Elk Grove Township Engine 11; Elk Grove Village Engine 10, Mount Prospect Tower 13; Buffalo Grove Ambulance 25; and a Rosemont ambulance.
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Apr 12
Arlington Heights police and firefighters were called to 209 LaSalle Street late Wednesday night (3/20/19) for a reported house fire. Police officers arrived and reported fire in the garage. The first arriving engine confirmed the report and added that there was heavy fire in the rear involving the first and second floors. Lines were deployed to the garage and the rear. A water main ruptured in the parkway two houses to the west of the hydrant being used by Engine 4, so when Engine 3 arrived they laid a supply line from a hydrant on a different main to supplement Engine 4. Arlington Heights Engine 2 was on a hydrant at the other end of the block and supplied Tower 1 and Palatine Quint 83. Buffalo Grove Tower 25 was at the scene and assigned as the RIT company.
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Excerpts from the ChicagoTribune.com:
Andrew Larson, a 23-year veteran of the Arlington Heights Fire Department, has been named its new chief. Larson, 46, who had been acting chief since the retirement of Ken Koeppen in November, took on the job formally Feb. 19 at a salary of $153,423. He will manage a $23 million budget, four fire houses and 108 employees.
A resident of Sycamore, Larson said his dedication to public service was instilled in him at a young age.
“I was raised in a family of public servants. It wasn’t really a discussion,” said Larson, who grew up in DeKalb County with grandmothers who were nurses, aunts and uncles who were school teachers, and a brother who was a lieutenant with the DeKalb Fire Department. “Right out of high school, I joined the Sandwich Volunteer Fire Department and fed my passion for this.”
Larson went on to earn an associate’s degree in fire science and was a paid on-call firefighter for the City of St. Charles until he was hired by Wheeling as a firefighter in 1996. He left a year later to join the Arlington Heights Fire Department where he was a firefighter and paramedic for 10 years before becoming a lieutenant, spending five years in public education. He became a battalion chief, then was promoted to deputy chief two years ago.
He has a bachelor’s degree in fire science management from Southern Illinois University and a master’s degree in public administration with an emphasis in strategic public management and leadership from Northern Illinois University.
Last year was the busiest year ever for the department with 10,329 calls for service. Of those, 7,512 were EMS related and the remaining 2,817 were for fire service.
He mentioned how some departments are providing medical care to residents in their homes. Although only just beginning in Arlington Heights, the idea is to prevent repeat transportation to hospitals. Training is being readied, and the department is working with the hospital to identify the types of patients and post-surgical care procedures they will be following. That and communicating what’s happening with patients to doctors will be a multi-year process.
The department also is training firefighters to assist each other following difficult calls, such as the death of a child.
Excerpts from the DailyHerald.com:
Andrew Larson, Arlington Heights’ acting fire chief since November, was appointed to the permanent position Friday after 22 years of service to the department.
He will be only the sixth fire chief the village has had since the fire department changed from volunteer to full-time in 1958.
Excerpts from the Dailyherald.com:
Arlington Heights Fire Chief Ken Koeppen is set to step down next week and take a new job as deputy chief of administration with the Schaumburg Fire Department.
Koeppen joined the Arlington Heights Fire Department in February 1980 as a firefighter, and worked his way up to become a lieutenant in 1995, then battalion chief in 1998, deputy chief in 2005, and chief in 2014. He is Arlington Heights’ fifth chief since the department changed from a volunteer to a full-time paid department in 1958.
His retirement takes effect Thursday, Nov. 15. Deputy Chief Andrew Larson was appointed as acting fire chief, overseeing a department of 110 employees and four divisions. Officials say they will conduct a search for a permanent successor by evaluating both internal and external candidates.
This from Keith Grzadziel:
Arlington Heights working fire at 543 S Arthur Ave. Reported as a fire on the roof of a commercial building. I was in the area and took this in but, arrived after the fire was knocked down.
KEITH GRZADZIEL photo
KEITH GRZADZIEL photo
KEITH GRZADZIEL photo
KEITH GRZADZIEL photo
KEITH GRZADZIEL photo
KEITH GRZADZIEL photo
KEITH GRZADZIEL photo
KEITH GRZADZIEL photo
KEITH GRZADZIEL photo
For the finest department portraits and composites contact Tim Olk or Larry Shapiro.
