chicagoareafire.com

Keeping track of Chicago area fire departments

Posts Tagged Fox Lake Fire Department

New tanker for Fox Lake (more)

Mar 3

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News, Fire truck being built | Comments off

Updated production photos of the tanker being built for Fox Lake by Alexis.

fire truck being built

Alexis Fire Apparatus photo

fire truck being built

Alexis Fire Apparatus photo

fire truck being built

Alexis Fire Apparatus photo

fire truck being built

Alexis Fire Apparatus photo

Tags: , , , ,

New tanker for Fox Lake (more)

Feb 17

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News, Fire truck being built | 4 Comments

Updated production photos of the tanker being built for Fox Lake by Alexis.

fire truck being built

Alexis Fire Apparatus photo

fire truck being built

Alexis Fire Apparatus photo

fire truck being built

Alexis Fire Apparatus photo

fire truck being built

Alexis Fire Apparatus photo

fire truck being built

Alexis Fire Apparatus photo

Tags: , , , ,

New tanker for Fox Lake

Jan 23

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News, Fire truck being built, New Apparatus Order | 1 Comment

In addition to the engine being built for Fox Lake at Alexis, there is also a tanker in production.

fire truck being built

Alexis Fire photo

fire truck being built

Alexis Fire photo

fire truck being built

Alexis Fire photo

Tags: , , , ,

5-Alarm fire in Salem, WI – 6-8-16

Jun 9

Posted by Admin in Apparatus on-scene, Fire Scene photos | Comments off

Excerpts from Fox6now.com:

Fifteen fire departments were called to the scene of a five-alarm fire on Wilmot Road in Salem (WI) on Wednesday, June 8th. More than 52,000 gallons of water had to be used to bring that fire under control. The building where it happened is a total loss after the blaze.

There are no hydrants in the area, so firefighters had to bring water to the scene. Water from the lake had to be utilized when the water level in Salem’s water tower became alarmingly low. Officials say if it had gotten any lower, the town’s water supply would have been threatened. That went on for about four hours until this fire was finally brought under control. The fire was contained to just the one building which has about 10 units. The building is a total loss. One firefighter was taken to the hospital for treatment of possible heat exhaustion — but no one else was hurt.

auto body shop fire

Tim Olk photo

flames and smoke from roof of building

Tim Olk photo

Kenosha Fire Department Sutphen tower ladder

Tim Olk photo

tower ladders work with master streams

Tim Olk photo

tower ladders work with master streams

Tim Olk photo

Fox Lake Firte Department tender

Tim Olk photo

Round Lake Fire Department tower ladder

Tim Olk photo

more photos at firescenes.net

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Fox Lake voters agree to join fire district

Mar 16

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News | Comments off

Excerpts from MySuburbanLife.com:

Voters in Fox Lake’s two referendums were in favor of incorporating the village into the Fox Lake Fire Protection District but against a proposed increased sales tax.

Officials said the increase would have raised a little more than a million dollars and would have gone toward hiring new police officers, resurfacing roads, continuing the village’s facade program for businesses, maintaining the bus service and acquiring land for parks and recreation.

Voters were much more supportive of incorporating the village into the Fox Lake Fire Protection District’s territory, with 58.7 percent voting yes. Previously, the village had levied for fire services and then turned those dollars over to the fire district.

Tags: , ,

Fox Lake village to consider joining FPD

Feb 14

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News | 1 Comment

Excerpts from MySuburbanlife.com:

The Village of Fox Lake should not be in the business of negotiating for fire protection and ambulance services, Mayor Donny Schmit said, adding “there’s politics involved in it.”

A March 15 referendum will ask voters whether the village should join the Fox Lake Fire Protection District. If approved, the fire district — not the village — would assume the duty of taxing homeowners for services and the village would no longer be involved in contract negotiations.

In joining the fire district, village residents would pay slightly higher taxes for fire protection services than they currently do — about $60 more per year for a home valued at $100,000.

Fire district residents have been paying a higher tax rate than village residents since the district approved an ambulance tax increase about a year ago. To make up for this inequity, the village gives the fire district an additional $210,000 in property tax revenue, money that could be used to fund other village needs.

Passage of the referendum “will make all the ambulance and fire tax rates equal throughout the village of Fox Lake and the district,” Fox Lake Fire Protection District Chief Ron Hoehne said.

The fire district serves about 33,000 residents in all or parts of Fox Lake, Round Lake, McHenry, Ingleside, Lakemoor, and Spring Grove, along with Volo, Grant, Burton, and Antioch Townships.

Given that 55 percent of the fire district’s calls are in the village, “it would be a more equitable situation” for the village to join the district, Schmit said.

“That’s how our three district trustees and our department feels,” Hoehne said, noting the Village of Wauconda went through the same process in 2010 and is now in the Wauconda Fire Protection District. “It’s happened all around us — Wauconda, McHenry, Spring Grove, Lake Villa, Grayslake, and Round Lake are in fire protection districts. Antioch is also trying to follow suit.”

If the referendum is approved, the fire district plans to add three additional firefighter/paramedics to its staff. Based on shift schedules, this would equate to one extra person on duty per day. In addition, the fire district could get caught up on vehicle replacement.

If the referendum fails, “We’ll continue doing what we’ve got to do, but village residents would still be paying less than district residents and the village would have to subsidize the shortfall,” Schmit said.

Tags: , ,

3-Alarm fire in Spring Grove, 11-29-15

Dec 1

Posted by Admin in Apparatus on-scene, Fire Scene photos, Fire Truck photos | 8 Comments

This from Jeff Rudolph:

12/29/15

Spring Grove, IL – McHenry County FPD responded to a fire at 6316 Johnsburg rd. Due in part to the size of the structure and the lack of hydrants in the area, command upgraded to the Box and eventually up to the third alarm for tenders. The fire was quickly knocked down and kept from extending into the residence. Jeff Rudolph
Spring Grove house fire

Jeff Rudolph photo

Cary FD rescue squad

Jeff Rudolph photo

Fox Lake FD Nova Quintech Sky-Arm

Jeff Rudolph photo

Fox River Grove FD tender

Jeff Rudolph photo

Hebron Alden FPD tanker

Jeff Rudolph photo

lake Geneva WI FD fire engine

Jeff Rudolph photo

Richmond FD fire engine

Jeff Rudolph photo

Excerpts from the Northwest Herald:

No one was injured in a fire that caused easily more than $100,000 in damage to a Spring Grove home Sunday afternoon. The Spring Grove Fire Protection District responded at 2:26 p.m. Sunday to 6316 Johnsburg Road where first responders (firefighters) found flames shooting out of the roof and windows of an attached tool shed, Chief Richard Tobiasz said.

About 15 fire departments from Lake and McHenry counties as well as Wisconsin helped put out the fire, which had extended into the main house, a large converted dairy barn … it took less than an hour for crews to get the fire under control.

The home is located in an area without fire hydrants, so tankers were dispatched to the water tower in Spring Grove to bring back water, he said.

The owner had been heating up some cooking oil in the tool shed when he went back in the house and may have fallen asleep, Tobiasz said. A neighbor saw the fire, got into the house and woke up the owner and his two adult sons.

The first floor and the tool shed suffered fire damage, and smoke damage extended onto the second floor where the bedrooms are, he said, adding the house is not a total loss and potentially could be rebuilt.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Lake County fire departments request voter approval for tax increases

Apr 8

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News | 2 Comments

Excerpts from the ChicagoTribune.com:

Antioch: Reversing course from November’s failed referendum for a new property tax to fund ambulances services, 57 percent of voters in the village of Antioch responded Tuesday with votes in favor, according to unofficial results from the Lake County Clerk’s Office.

In Antioch Township, however, voting on a related ambulance services ballot question remained nearly deadlocked after 10 p.m., with “yes” votes holding 50.2 percent of the 1,726 ballots counted. All precincts were in and early votes counted, with only provisional ballots and late-arriving votes by mail unaccounted for, according to the clerk’s office. Official totals were not expected Tuesday night.

The separate referendum questions for unincorporated residents and village residents asked taxpayers to approve a .25-cent ambulance tax that would cost the owner of a home with a market value of $100,000 just over $84 a year. The need for ambulance services is the result of the Antioch Rescue Squad disbanding.

Fox Lake: Voters were asked to approve a tax for ambulance services, and in unincorporated Fox Lake they voted at a 65 percent clip in favor of the ballot question, according to unofficial results with all 16 precincts reporting.

Officials said the funds will help the Fox Lake Fire Protection District upgrade equipment, such as breathing apparatus, and tools. The district also has a fire engine and tanker truck beyond maximum age recommended by the National Fire Protection Association Standards.

Newport Township FPD:  According to unofficial vote totals, the Newport Township Fire Protection District did not garner enough votes to raise its ambulance tax rate.

With all five precincts counted, 56 percent of voters cast ballots against the measure.

The district was seeking to raise its tax rate .132 cents per $100 of assessed valuation to help fund the replacement of aging equipment after the district used reserve funds to build a second fire station.

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Fox Lake Fire District seeks tax levy increase

Mar 23

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News | Comments off

Excerpts from the Daily Herald:

Citing concerns about aging equipment and adequate manpower at fire stations in unincorporated areas, Fox Lake Fire Protection District officials are going to voters next month with a tax-increase proposal.

At issue, Chief Ron Hoehne said, is a need to add at least three full-time paramedics to the ranks and to boost funding for the district’s vehicle maintenance fund in response to an 8 percent rise in emergency calls last year.  Hoehne said the district currently staffs two full-time paramedics per work shift at fire stations on Molidor Road in Ingleside and on Main Street in Spring Grove. Each station operates three work shifts with paramedics working 24 hours, then taking 48 hours off, he said… [and] to bring staffing to a minimum level, the district needs to add three paramedics — one per shift — to the Molidor Road station.

The referendum question on the April 7 ballot asks voters to more than double the property tax rate to the fire district for ambulance service from .133 to .350 per $100 equalized assessed value, marking a 21.7-cent increase. If it is approved, the owner of a $100,000 home would see their property taxes increase about $72 per year, Hoehne said …  [generating] about $850,000 in new revenue to the fire district in the first year.

Because of a three-year contract in place, voters in the village of Fox Lake are not a part of the referendum. He said the fire district covers 33,000 residents over 30 miles, but the question is only for the 22,000 residents living outside of the village limits.

“We have had the same ambulance tax in the district since 1978,” he said. “We have never gone to the voters seeking additional revenue for the fire district. But, we just hit a point where we have to at this point.”

Similar to other areas in the region, home values in the district have dropped, and that has translated into falling tax revenues since 2008. The district’s equalized assessed value fell from $580 million in 2008 to $396 million in 2013, he said. In addition, the emergency call volume has increased since 2013.

“We had to dip into our minimal reserves to get through last year,” Hoehne said. “We are operating a break-even budget now. But if anything catastrophic happens or if there’s a big-ticket break down with our equipment, it would really hurt.”

The district currently has a fleet of 26 vehicles, [and] the cost of maintaining that fleet is becoming more expensive, especially as the vehicles become older and see more use because of increased emergency calls.

If voters approve the increase, the Fox Lake fire district’s ambulance rate would be in line with what those in Fox River Grove, Long Grove, Lake Villa Township and Lake Zurich pay for similar services, he said.

thanks Dan & Ron

Tags: , , , ,

Fox Lake FPD to seek tax increase

Jan 4

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News | Comments off

From the Northwest Herald:

For the first time in 37 years, the Fox Lake Fire Protection District is asking residents to increase its taxing authority.

The fire protection district, which covers parts of McHenry, Lakemoor and Spring Grove, is looking to increase its taxing rate from 0.133 to 0.350 through a referendum on the April ballot. The potential increase would generate between $800,000 and $900,000 more for the district, Chief Ron Hoehne said.

Hoehne said the increase would go toward hiring more personnel and replacing outdated ambulances. He said the district had to take out low-interest, five-year loans for the last two ambulance purchases and staffing has hit dangerously low levels with only two personnel at Station No. 3 and Station No. 4 at times.

The increase would mean about a $72 increase for every $100,000 of equalized assessed home value, Hoehne said.  Failing to pass the referendum could have dire consequences, Hoehne said, especially with the lack of qualified part-time volunteer workers, who have greatly decreased in numbers over the years.

“We’ll be having to look at layoffs or closing stations and that’s what we don’t want to do,” Hoehne said. “We have too large of an area we have to cover, from the Wisconsin border to Route 120.”

thanks Dan

Tags: , , ,