Posts Tagged Hampshire Fire Protection District

Crash with entrapment in Hampshire, 11-2-18

From the Hampshire FPD:

We responded to a vehicle accident vs tree with heavy damage on Harmony north of Kelley Road earlier this afternoon (11/2/18). One patient was extricated and transported to an Elgin hospital with serious injuries. We received mutual aid from Burlington and Pingree Grove Fire Protection Districts as we had multiple calls in progress.

 

crash crashed into trees

Larry Shapiro photo

Tags: , , , , ,

Hampshire Fire Protection District news (more)

Excerpts from the Dailyherald.com:

After two failed attempts, the Hampshire Fire Protection District will try again this fall for a property tax increase.

If approved by voters, a binding referendum question on the Nov. 6 ballot would allow the fire district to levy a 0.1 percent tax to create an emergency and rescue fund. The new tax would generate an additional $236,000 to go toward replacing aging equipment and increasing staffing levels, Deputy Chief Trevor Herrmann said.

The owner of a $200,000 home would pay an additional $67 per year in property taxes.

The sole fire station at 202 Washington Ave. is staffed with five people about 25 percent of the time, while all other shifts are covered by four people. To handle a rising number of calls, the district wants to increase its personnel levels to five or six for every shift. That would mean hiring about five additional part-time firefighters. The district currently has six full-time employees and 34 part-timers.

Adding on-duty firefighters around the clock is helpful if crews are called to two or more incidents at once, as was the case nearly 200 times last year. They respond to more than 1,200 calls annually.

Additionally, some revenue generated by the new tax would be used to purchase new apparatus — including a $600,000 fire engine and a $200,000 ambulance — in the next few years. Officials also are seeking grants to help offset new equipment costs.

Similar proposals for a tax increase were shot down by voters in the past two elections. This time around, the district is using social media, community meetings and a citizen committee to help spread the word.

During the district’s first tax hike attempt in 2017, officials also failed to pass a second referendum question seeking a 0.15 percent tax. That extra revenue would have been used to open a second fire station in a rented space near Route 20 and Interstate 90 — an area experiencing economic growth. They now are working on a plan to build a second station on the north side of the district without having to ask taxpayers for more money.

Tags: , ,

New tanker for Hampshire

From the Interstate Emergency Vehicles Facebook page:

Hampshire Fire -Rescue
Hampshire, IL
3500 Gallon Tanker

Inspection day at Rosenbauer America

Freightliner/Rosenbauer America 3000 tanker

Interstate Emergency Vehicles photo

Freightliner/Rosenbauer America 3000 tanker

Interstate Emergency Vehicles photo

Freightliner/Rosenbauer America 3000 tanker

Interstate Emergency Vehicles photo

Tags: , , ,

Hampshire Fire Protection District news

Excerpts from the DailyHerald.com:

If you think spending an extra 46 cents a day would provide peace of mind against the possibility of your house or business going up in flames, you’ll vote yes to a pair of referendum questions from the Hampshire Fire Protection District that would equate to a tax increase of about $167 annually to a taxpayer with a $200,000 home.

Hampshire’s sole fire station on Washington Avenue is staffed with four firefighters at any one time. Deputy Chief Trevor Herrmann would prefer six people on duty, and he’ll have that if the tax increase is approved.

With an extra $480,000, Herrman would rent space near Route 20 and Interstate 90 for two extra firefighters and a paramedic engine to better cover that portion of the 42-square-mile district. Last year the district responded to 1,175 calls, and 350 of them were in that northern part of the district. Response time ranged from 8 to 16 minutes. Adding firefighters at that second location would reduce response by half, authorities say.

The calls for service last year were the most in the department’s history. All told, 475 were fire-related. The added funds wouldn’t be just for new staff; they’ll also go toward replacing a $300,000 tanker and a $250,000 ambulance in the next few years.

If you placed one of the 1,175 calls for service in 2016, we’re fairly certain you’ll vote yes. The rest of the district residents should follow suit.

thanks Ron

Tags: , ,

Off-Duty firefighter rescues woman from fire

Excerpts from the Chicago Tribune:

A passerby who called 911 and an off-duty firefighter who dragged a woman out of a burning building are being credited following a weekend apartment fire that left a Hampshire woman in critical condition and injured two firefighters.

…  the resident of the apartment … remained in critical condition Monday afternoon in Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood. Two firefighters sustained lesser injuries.

Lt. Eric Larson of the Hampshire Fire Protection District said the fire was phoned into 911 by a passerby about 10:17 p.m. Friday (2/6/15).

Even before the 911 center sent out an alarm, Deputy Chief Trevor Herrmann said, he happened to be near the fire …

Soon after the alarm went over the radio, Hampshire Police Officer Roy Maki arrived and went upstairs with Herrmann. Herrmann said they kicked open the apartment door. “You couldn’t see anything in there through the smoke but we heard groaning,” Herrmann said.

“Trevor crawled along the floor to stay below the smoke as much as he could, grabbed the woman and dragged her back to the doorway,” Fire Chief Bill Robinson said. “He had Officer Maki stay at the doorway and keep calling out to him so he could keep track of where the door was. It’s very easy to lose your bearings in a smoke-filled room.”

When the [the victim] was carried out, she had stopped breathing, the chief said. So Herrmann and two other firefighters performed CPR until she resumed breathing … [and] was taken to Presence Saint Joseph Hospital in Elgin, then transferred by helicopter to Loyola.

… Hampshire’s firefighters were assisted by the Pingree Grove, Burlington, Fox River & Countryside, Huntley, Marengo, Genoa-Kingston and Sycamore fire departments.

thanks Dan

Tags: , , , ,

Hampshire FPD donates engine to ECC

This from Bill Friedrich:

The Hampshire Fire Protection District recently donated a fire engine to Elgin Community College (ECC) in honor of retired Chief Wayne Siegmann, an advocate for professional development. The engine will provide a hands-on laboratory environment for ECC students in the fire science program.

The used truck will be incorporated in the fire science curriculum to train students on how to drive and pump the fire engine.

The engine is a 1986 Mack MC688/3D 1000/1250.

Mack MC fire engine photo

Hampshire FPD Engine 1416 was donated to the Elgin Community College. Bill Friedrich photo

Tags: , ,

Hampshire Fire District receives funds for equipment

The Courier-News has an article about new impact fees for the Hampshire Fire District:

The village board last week unanimously approved the release of impact fees to the Hampshire Fire Protection District up to $26,000.

In a letter to Village President Jeffrey Magnussen, Hampshire Fire Chief Bill Robinson requested $25,407.59 in impact fees in order to purchase two items. One of the items to be purchased is a light tower that would be mounted on the top of the fire district’s squad.

According to Robinson’s letter, “two of the three lights on our squad no longer function, and the company that manufactures them is out of business. Replacing them would be expensive and would not provide the type of light the tower would provide. The tower rises vertically above the scene and provides much more lighting. It does not blind the responders like our present lighting source. The tower is a demo unit that has been completely refurbished and still has the manufacturer’s warranty. The cost of the unit with installation is $10,561.25.”

The other item needed by the district is a 4-wheeled UTV (utility terrain vehicle), trailer, medical skid unit and supporting equipment.

Robinson’s letter stated: “This unit would be used to move personnel and equipment to remote locations within our district. We have over 40 water impoundments and locations that are used by equestrians, snowmobilers, railway and other remote areas that make it difficult to move equipment, first responders and patients in and out. The unit would be used for annual events such as Hampshire Coon Creek Country Days. We have also offered it to the village police department in the event that they would need such a resource.”

“We have secured two grants in the amount of $12,702 to help pay for the asset. The remaining dollars would be from impact fees in the amount of $14,846.34.”

thanks Dan

Tags: , ,