Two local area departments have units currently being built by Alexis Fire Equipment. The progress of these can be followed HERE.
Long Grove tanker:
Round Lake engine:
Two local area departments have units currently being built by Alexis Fire Equipment. The progress of these can be followed HERE.
Long Grove tanker:
Round Lake engine:
Tags: Alexis Fire Apparatus, Alexis Fire Equipment, Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District, Long Grove Fire Protection District, Long Grove orders new tanker from Alexis, new engine being built by Alexis for Round Lake, photos of fire truck being built, Round Lake Fire Department
Nov 25
Posted by Admin in Fire Department News, New Delivery | Comments off
From the Horton Ambulance Facebook page:
A new ambulance for the Greater Round Lake Fire District
thanks Tyler
Tags: Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District, new ambulance for Round Lake, new Horton ambulance delivery, Round Lake Fire Department
Nov 9
Posted by Admin in Patch, Site News, updated listing | Comments off
We have recently received an influx of fire department patches to add to listings on the site. The following department patches have now been added:
Tags: Clarendon Hills Fire Department, East Joliet Fire Department, Elk Grove Village Fire Department, Elmhurst Fire Department, fire company patches, fire department patch, fire department patches, Frankfort Fire Protection District, Garden Homes Fire Protection District, Garden Homes Volunteer Fire Department, Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District, Hinsdale Fire Department, Hoffman Estates Fire Department, Homewood Fire Department, Lemont Fire Department, Lemont Fire Protection District, Matteson Fire Department, McHenry Township Fire Protection District, Midlothian Fire Department, Oak Forest Fire Department, Oak Lawn FIre Department, Posen Fire Department, Round Lake Fire Department
Jun 18
Posted by bgshap in Apparatus on-scene, Fire, Fire Service News | Comments off
More on the fire in Zion on Sunday at Maine Plastics.
The was in the outside yard of a recycling facility that bands various paper goods and material into large bundles for reuse by others. According to the company web site:
Maine Plastics is a buyer, seller, and recycler of plastics, metals, paper scrap, and uncommon materials. We also offer baling, grinding, material seperation, metal detection and removal services at our plants nationwide.
First arriving companies were on the scene around 7AM, and the alarm was upgraded to a MABAS Box Alarm. They also requested the Quad 2 Foam Unit (a 1992 Oshkosh T-3000) out of Round Lake. Approximately an hour later, a 2nd Alarm was struck for additional companies. The Winthrop Harbor and Zion trucks were deployed with elevated master streams on the north side of the facility, and the Antioch tower ladder was setup to the south. When the ARFF arrived, the Zion truck was repositioned and the water supply for Winthrop harbor was re-directed to the ARFF.
A 3rd Alarm was struck an hour or so later, and subsequently a Haz Mat Box Alarm was requested for techs to advise on the hazards of the burning plastics and other products.
Units on the scene included the following:
After the 3rd Alarm was in, additional water was needed to supply a Round Lake tower ladder. The Newport Township hose tender (Engine 1413) dropped roughly 2,500′ of 5″ large diameter hose (LDH) to a nearby pond to initiate a drafting operation. Engines from Paris (WI) and Pleasant Prairie (WI) were placed in-line to boost the pressure for this long run.
Units at the fire scene represented five different MABAS Divisions (3,4,5,101, and 102) as well as five counties (Cook, Lake, McHenry, Kenosha, and Racine), and two states (IL & WI).
A large gallery of images can be fond HERE.
Tags: 3rd alarm fire in Zion, ARFF works at at large fire, fire engine drafting from pond, Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District, in-line pumping operations, large diameter hose for firefighting, large outdoor fire in Zion, Larry Shapiro, Maine Plastic company fire, Newport Township FPD, Newport Township FPD hose tender, Paris WI Fire Department, Zion ESDA, Zion Fire Department
May 2
Posted by bgshap in Fire Department History, Historic fire apparatus | 3 Comments
Jeff Rudolph is keeping us honest … and making sure that we’re accurate in our historical postings. He recently submitted comments reminding us of some fire departments that had non-red units which were not referenced in the postings about MABAS Division 3 and MABAS Division 4.
MABAS Division 4 additions:
The Abbott Labs Fire Department previously had two lime green engines and a van.
The Beach Park Fire Department was formerly the Bonnie Brook Fire Protection District. They had a brush truck, this tanker, an engine, a squad, and a van that were painted lime green before they switched to red.
In addition to the two white CF Mack engines that were owned by the Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District, they also had this Spartan/FMC engine.
MABAS Division 3 additions:
The Evanston Fire Department received twin engines in 1974 from Howe. They were both bright yellow and assigned as Engine 23 and 24.
Highwood used a retired engine from Northbrook as a reserve engine. This 1969 AmericanLaFrance 900 Series ran in Northbrook as Engine 60. The rear body work was done while it was owned by Northbrook.
In 1981, the Winnetka Fire Department received a small rescue on a Chevy chassis from Pierce. Bought with funding from the federal government, it was painted lime green to match the Department of Transportation spec. It was later repainted red and white.
Tags: American LaFrance 900 series engine, Beach Park Fire Department, Bonnie Brook Fire Protection District, Evanston Fire Department, FMC Roughneck pumper, Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District, Highwood Fire Department, Howe fire apparatus, Howe top-mount engine, Jeff Rudolph, lime green fire trucks, Northbrook Fire Department, Winnetka Fire Department, yellow fire engine, yellow fire trucks
May 1
Posted by bgshap in Apparatus on-scene, Fire, Fire Service News | 2 Comments
A family residing at 1080 Hiawatha Lane in Riverwoods, IL was awakened around 3AM by smoke detectors. Before exiting the house, homeowners encountered heavy smoke from the basement and were unable to descend the stairs to help a child escape from his bedroom. The child, unable to navigate the dense smoke to get up the stairs, was able to escape through a window and window well.
Lincolnshire-Riverwoods companies responded on the Still Alarm, and upon arrival they upgraded the alarm to a Code 4 (working fire). This brought Prospect Heights Squad 9 and a mutual-aid ambulance.
First arriving firefighters found the front door open and building smoke conditions inside as they made their way to the basement stairway. Almost immediately they noticed a softness under foot and quickly fled the house. Within minutes of all members getting out, the front foyer began to collapse.
Companies began an exterior attack and soon thereafter the alarm was upgraded to a Box Alarm which brought engines from Northbrook, Buffalo Grove, and Lake Forest in addition to a Long Grove squad, a Lake Zurich ambulance, and a Countryside truck.
The fire continued to prove difficult to get ahead of and a 2nd Alarm was requested at roughly 4AM. This brought engines from Mundelein and Deerfield, a Libertyville squad, an ambulance from Northfield, a quint from Highwood, and a truck from Grayslake.
As it appeared that the fire was spreading vertically throughout the house, companies vented the roof and second floor windows. The basement fire continued to burn freely and a request was made for high expansion foam. Round Lake Foam Unit 2229 responded to the scene. The fire continued to burn and the alarm was upgraded again to a 3rd Alarm. This brought engines from Lake Bluff, Glenview, plus a truck from Wilmette, an ambulance from Palatine, and a squad from Highland Park.
The basement was partially filled with water and the remainder was filled with foam as the fire burned between the floor joists. The fire was struck-0ut around 8AM and companies began to pickup from the scene. The 3rd Alarm companies were not put to work.
Lincolnshire Engine 52 was the still alarm engine and had two lines off. Engine 51 laid a supply line across nearby Riverwoods Road to supply Engine 52. Truck 53 had a hydrant in front of the house and had six lines working.
A gallery of images from the scene can be found on Larry Shapiro’s site HERE. A video of the fire will follow in a subsequent post.
Tags: basement fire, engineered floor joists cause floor collapse, family escapes house fire, firefighters use foam to fight basement fire, floor collapse endangers firefighters, Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District, high expansion foam used to fight fire, large house destroyed by fire in Riverwoods, Larry Shapiro, Lincolnshire-Riverwoods FPD, MESS Canteen, Northbrook Fire Department Lieutenant Steve johnson, Tim Olk, Wilmette Fire Department
Apr 30
Posted by bgshap in Fire Service News, Historic fire apparatus | 6 Comments
Four fire departments in Lake County, MABAS Division 4, have had non-red fire apparatus over the years. To date, only the Fox Lake Fire Department and the Winthrop Harbor Fire Department maintain fleets that are not red, red & white, or red & black.
The fire department at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center in North Chicago used to run apparatus that was either solid lime green or that later had a white roof. The military has since changed over to white over red … with the exception of some ARFF and other airport assigned units.
When the Lake Zurich Rescue Squad and the Lake Zurich Fire Department were separate entities, the rescue squad ran ambulances and a small squad unit. When they purchased this unit in 1979, there was federal funding provided to help with the cost. One stipulation though was that the squad had to be painted white over lime green, which at the time was considered a matter of safety with regards to the visibility of the unit.
The Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District purchased two Mack CF engines; one in 1968 and the other in 1975. Both were painted white.
The Waukegan apparatus has always been red or red and white with a few exceptions. In 1979, they purchased a DOT spec’d small squad just like the one that was bought by the Lake Zurich Rescue Squad. Additionally, they purchased a 1969 Ward LaFrance Model P80 engine on an Ambassador chassis that was white over lime green which was typical of the Ward LaFrance units being shipped during that era. They went on to purchase three more units from Ward LaFrance in 1976 and 1977, all of which were white over red.
Other posts in this series can be found by entering Color of fire trucks in the search field.
Tags: Fox Lake Fire Department, Great Lakes Naval Training Center Fire Department, Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District, Lake Zurich Fire Department, Lake Zurich Fire Department history, Lake Zurich Rescue Squad, Larry Shapiro, MABAS Division 4, Mack CF engine, Round Lake Fire Department, Ward LaFrance Ambassador, Ward LaFrance P80 engine, Waukegan Fire Department, Winthrop Harbor Fire Department
Mar 19
Posted by bgshap in Apparatus on-scene, Fire, Fire Department News, Fire Service News | 2 Comments
The North Chicago Fire Department responded to a reported fire in a commercial auto-body facility last night and arrived to find heavy fire in a one-story commercial building with exposures on both sides. The alarm was upgraded to a MABAS Box Alarm which brought mutual aid companies to the scene. Not long after, a structural collapse of the original building occurred as fire spread to both exposures.
There were several special calls initiated which increased the units on the scene. Several hours later the alarm was elevated to a 2nd Alarm although the actual number of companies on the scene made the alarm in essence much greater.
Engines that were pumping came from North Chicago, Waukegan, Newport Township, Knollwood, Abbott Labs, and Lake Forest. Additional engine companies responded from the Great Lakes Naval Base, Winthrop Harbor, Lake Villa, and a second unit from Newport Township. There were five elevated master streams in operation including tower ladders from North Chicago and Round Lake, in addition to Highland Park, Zion, and Lincolnshire-Riverwoods ladders. A Grayslake ladder and Arlington Heights tower were not put to use. Arlington Heights though receives the prize for coming the farthest … 32 miles.
Lake Bluff, Gurnee, and Deerfield had squads at the scene and chief officers responded from Waukegan, Newport Township, Wauconda, and Lake Forest. There were two North Chicago ambulances on the scene plus medic units for rehab from Libertyville and the Antioch Rescue Squad.
The fire was directly across the street from Abbott Labs and their fire department was able to supply water from the Abbott property reservoir to allow greater defensive operations than the North Chicago city water supply would allow.
There were no reported injuries associated with the fire and the alarm was struck-out late in the evening. Companies were released from the scene after midnight as an excavator was brought in to knock down the remnants of an unsafe building.
Shaun Unell and Larry Shapiro both were at the scene and have submitted images. More photos can be viewed HERE.
A video will be available soon.
Tags: Antioch Rescue Squad, building fire on Sheridan Road in North Chicago, buildings destroyed by fire in North Chicago, commercial building fire, commercial fire with bow string truss roof, firefighters deploy elevated master streams, Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District, heavy fire in a commercial building, Highland Park Fire Department, Larry Shapiro, Lincolnshire-Riverwoods Fire Protection District, Lincolnshire-Riverwoods Truck 53, LTI tower ladder working at fire, Mack CF engine pumping at fire scene, MESS Canteen, North Chicago Fire Department, Pierce Tower ladder working at fire, Seagrave engine pumping at fire scene, Shaun Unell, Sutphen ladder working at fire, tower ladder operations at commercial building fire
Apr 7
Posted by bgshap in Apparatus on-scene, Fire, Fire Service News, Reader submission | Comments off
Jeff Rudolph reports that Antioch had a fire yesterday at 208 Birchwood. The fire came in at 1430 hours and companies found a 2-car detached garage which was fully involved. Fire extended to a camper and a boat in the driveway. All was a total loss. Mutual aid to the scene was from Fox Lake, Lake Villa, and Round Lake. The cause of the fire is believed to be electrical.
Tags: Alexis engine, American LaFrance engien, American LaFrance/Alexis tower ladder, American LaFrance/Alexis/LTI, Antioch FIre Department, Antioch First Fire District, Fox Lake Fire Department, garage fire, Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District, Jeff Rudolph, Lake Villa Fire District, Pirsch engine, US Tank
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