Truck 4 FDE-366
Truck 22 FDE-365
photo from Facebook
photo from Facebook
Donald Jimerson photo
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Posts Tagged Chicago Fire Department
Excerpts from claims journal.com:
An insurer may be liable for $14 million of a mortgage company’s settlement with the estates of two Chicago firefighters who were killed while battling a blaze at an abandoned laundry, a federal appellate court ruled Monday.
A district court judge had ruled that no coverage was owed under the excess liability policy issued by a Chubb unit because of an exclusion for properties held by a “mortgagee in procession.” But a panel of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that there was a question of whether the policyholder, Apex Mortgage Corp., was actually in possession of the property at 1738-1744 E. 75th St.
“The district court determined Apex indisputably possessed the property, but we think the court jumped the gun,” the court said.
The case is Apex Mortgage Corp. v. Great Northern Insurance Co.. The City of Chicago had cited the owners of the former Sing Way Commercial Shirt Service for 14 code violations. The court said the “property was in disrepair, exposed to the elements, trashed and open to vagrants.”
The building’s owners, Chuck and Richard Dai, had defaulted on their mortgage. When Apex threatened foreclosure, the Dais offered to give the deed to Apex. The company accepted subject to an inspection to ensure the property was marketable.
Apex inspected the property, installed new locks on the building and a tarp over the roof, but decided there was no point in pursuing foreclosure, Apex’s lawyers said in court pleadings. Apex returned the deed to the Dais in April 2009 with a letter reminding them they owned the building and urging them to secure the property. The Dais say they never got the letter.
On Dec. 22, 2010, the Chicago Fire Department responded to a fire at the property. The roof collapsed about 20 minutes after that call came in, killing firefighters Corey Ankum and Edward Stringer, who had entered the building to search for homeless occupants. Two other firefighters were buried in the rubble, but survived. The firefighters’ estates filed wrongful death actions against Apex, which the mortgage company settled for $15 million.
Apex’s primary liability insurer, Great Northern Insurance Co., paid the $1 million policy limit after Apex filed suit. Apex sought to recover the remaining $14 million from its excess policy with Federal Insurance Co., but Federal said no coverage was owed because of the exclusion.
District Court Judge Virginia M. Kendall agreed with Federal that Apex was a mortgagee in possession at the time of the fire and granted summary judgment in Federal’s favor. But the 7th Circuit said the facts in evidence provide room to argue otherwise.
The panel said Chuck Dai ordered a handyman to board up the property after the city cited him for code violations. He never made the other repairs that were ordered and eventually was sentenced to 180 days in jail for his negligence. Chuck Dai did not contest the city’s allegations that he controlled the property during those criminal proceedings.
The court also rejected Federal’s argument that Apex effectively admitted it was in possession of the property when it agreed to a settlement with the firefighters’ estates.
“Settlement does not create a judicial ruling,” the panel said. “Nor does it vindicate a plaintiff’s theory of liability. Parties can settle for any number of reasons and the obligation to pay comes from the settlement itself (an agreement), not from one party’s liability.”
The court remanded the case to the district court for further proceedings.
From Aiden Hughes:
“Battalion 20’s brand new 2020 Ford Explorer Police Interceptor SUV is now in service! Battalion 23 also received a buggy like this one along with PFC 4-5-9. They look very sporty and they switched back to green lights.”
Aiden Hughes photo
Battalion 20 is shops # FDB-644
thanks Danny
Chicago Fire Department news
Aug 14
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Chicago Fire Department news
Aug 13
Excerpts from the ChicagoSunTimes.com:
Mayor Lori Lightfoot has cut a one-year deal with the Chicago Firefighters Union that includes $95 million in back pay but would nearly double employee health care contributions. One union official said rank-and-file members are not happy about the hike in health care costs, though the contract also maintains treasured union perks and outdated staffing requirements that cost taxpayers millions. The deal still must be ratified. The current contract expired June 30, 2017. The new agreement runs through June 30, 2021. It includes a 10% pay raise with all but 2.5% of it retroactive.
The mayor’s office said the higher health care contributions by employees would save taxpayers roughly $7 million a year. Active members will have to pay an additional 1.5% of their salaries towards health care costs. The deal also raises the salary cap for those contributions to $115,000. Firefighters and paramedics would continue to be eligible for retiree health care at age 55. But, the new deal would require future retirees between 55 and 60 to contribute 3% toward their health care costs. Those between 60 and 62 would contribute 1.5% of their retirement annuity toward their benefit.
“The men and women of the Chicago Fire Department have been on the front lines of a crisis that is entirely without precedent in our city,” Lightfoot said in a statement issued by her office.
Former Mayor Rahm Emanuel had been close to a new firefighters’ contract that would have traded health insurance concessions for a reduction in daily “variances” from the minimum manning requirement that triggered the bitter 1980 firefighters strike. That rule requires every piece of fire apparatus to be staffed by at least five employees. But time ran out on Emanuel’s second term before the deal got done.
Lightfoot has talked about seeking some of those same concessions, but settled for only one major one — higher employee and retiree contributions toward the rising cost of health care.
Veteran paramedic Pat Fitzmaurice was even more disappointed in Lightfoot, who benefited greatly when Local 2 endorsed her over County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. “She lied. She said more ambulances and we got no more ambulances,” Fitzmaurice wrote in a text message.
Lightfoot said she looks forward to returning to the bargaining table soon to work in collaboration with Local 2 on operational reforms needed to modernize and continue the excellence of CFD.
Kristen Cabanban, a spokesperson for the city’s Office of Budget and Management, refused to say how the city would cover the $95 million cost of back pay at a time when the stay-at-home shutdown has already blown a $700 million hole in Lightfoot’s precariously-balanced, 2020 budget.
The union also won increases in vacation days, holiday and overtime pay, and promotional concessions. Local 2 also won more divers and strict guarantees on distribution of personal protective equipment. The $50 penalty for failure to participate in the city’s wellness program would be waived.
Excerpts from nbcchicago.com:
Chicago firefighters were called to a home at around 4:16 a.m. in the 5700 block of South Washtenaw Avenue in the Gage Park neighborhood.
“Upon our arrival, companies encountered heavy fire in the back half of a two-story frame building,” Chicago Fire Department Deputy Chief John Van Dorpe said at the scene. “Initial encounter was everyone was out of the building, and then we had the report of one victim still unaccounted for in the building.”
In searching the home, firefighters discovered a 4-year-old girl unresponsive in a side bedroom on the first floor. She was taken to Holy Cross Hospital where she was pronounced dead. A firefighter suffered minor injuries in the incident and was taken to a hospital in good condition. There were nine other people in the hom, none of whom reported any injuries from the fire. The home was rendered uninhabitable, with all residents placed in other shelter.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Chicago Fire Department news
Aug 11
From Chicago FD Media on Twitter:
The Chicago Fire Department along with family & friends held the 10th Year Ceremonial Bell Ringing for fallen Firefighter Christopher Wheatley on 8/9/20. CFD received its first new fireboat decades in 2011 and it was named after Wheatley.
CFD Media photo
CFD Media photo
CFD Media photo
thanks Danny
Excerpts from abc7chicago.com:
Chicago firefighters pulled an 86-year-old woman and a man from a home about 1:10 a.m. Thursday in the 1000 block of North Parkside Avenue. The woman was taken to West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park, where she was pronounced dead. A man in his late 60s went in critical condition to Loretto Hospital where he died.
The fire was confined to a mattress inside the bedroom. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Excerpts from the ChicagoSunTmes.com:
The Chicago Fire Department on Sunday said it’s launched an investigation into a recent online post that alleged someone from a firetruck removed a Black Lives Matter banner in Kenwood near Lake Shore Drive.
In a Saturday post on Nextdoor, a hyperlocal social network for neighborhoods, Adele Cobbs of East Hyde Park said she saw a firetruck traveling north on Cornell Drive to East 47th St. when it suddenly stopped. She then alleged that two white men took down a Black Lives Matter banner.
“They literally obstructed traffic to do this,” Cobbs wrote. “Unbelievable! They are paid to serve our community and this is what they think about Black lives.”
Cobbs also shared an image of Truck 15 in Bronzeville, behind her vehicle. The post prompted community outrage, with many suggesting she report the incident.
CFD spokesperson Larry Langford said the department is aware of the post and is looking into the allegation.
“The CFD strives to serve every neighborhood with equal response and concern,” Langford said in a written statement. “We have no tolerance for any conduct that demeans any of our residents and visitors, all of whom we have taken a sworn oath to serve. I assure you we will rapidly get to the bottom of this and if found to be accurate discipline and corrective action will be swift and just.”
