Mar 10
Mundelein Fire Department, Pierce Enforcer pumper, 1,500-gpm pump, 750-gallon tank. Delivery in August.
Park Ridge Fire Department, Pierce Enforcer pumper, 2,000-gpm pump, 500-gallon tank. Delivery in June.
Schaumburg Fire Department, Pierce Velocity heavy-duty rescue, 1,500-gpm pump, 500-gallon tank, 25.5-foot walk-around rescue body. Delivery in December.
Schaumburg Fire Department, Pierce Impel pumper, 1,500-gpm pump, 500-gallon tank. Delivery in August.
thanks Josh
Park Ridge firefighters were called to the scene of a crash Friday morning (1/6/17) involving Chicago FD Ambulance 39 at Belle Plaine and Cumberland. The ambulance was transporting a patient at the time of the accident.
Park Ridge FD at t he scene of a crash involving CFD Ambulance 39 1/6/17.
Excerpts from theChicagotribune.com:
No injuries were reported in a crash that involved a Chicago Fire Department ambulance and a sport utility vehicle Friday morning in Park Ridge.
The ambulance, which was transporting a patient, was headed north on Cumberland Avenue around 8:30 a.m. when it hit the SUV at Belle Plaine Avenue, said Park Ridge Deputy Police Chief Lou Jogmen.
The SUV was headed east on Belle Plaine and it ended up on the lawn of a home at the northeast corner of the intersection, which is four-way stop for traffic.
Jogmen said he was told the ambulance had its lights and sirens activated at the time of the crash. Park Ridge paramedics responded to the scene and completed the transport of the ambulance’s patient.
Excerpts from the Journal-Topics.com:
What started as a discussion about upcoming eligibility tests for the Park Ridge Fire Department, evolved into a discussion on how salary compression at the highest levels in several departments could jeopardize retaining senior staff.
Fire Chief Jeff Sorensen said tests must be administered in July for firefighter, lieutenant, and battalion chief, because the old lists expire after two years. Should a vacancy occur, he would have to wait until there is a new list to fill the position. With three battalion chief positions, he needs at least three qualified candidates if promotions become necessary before 2018.
The union contract for personnel below that level was settled in the last year, allowing some increases in pay. Union members, up through lieutenant, qualify for overtime pay if they have to work longer hours. Battalion chiefs get no overtime.
The differential between lieutenants and battalion chiefs has been shrinking, a situation which Mike Suppan from Human Resources calls salary compression. He said that the situation of wage compression for non-union staff, and the resulting concerns on employee retention, has been a problem for seven or eight years.
Sorensen said more than half his lieutenants already have enough seniority to make close to battalion chief pay.
Retention, especially of employees with seniority and leadership experience in the department, needs to come with incentive for promotion. Two years ago there were only two who tested for battalion chief.
Sorenson appointed an executive officer (a civilian post) and promoted one lieutenant to training captain, while eliminating positions for deputy chief, senior administrative assistant, and a part-time emergency preparedness coordinator. Salaries for chief and the executive officer have dropped since the fiscal 2014 budget by $95,177.
Efforts to economize, to streamline operations, and to get grant money to cover expenses have helped the city’s bottom line, but have not been returned to the fire department budget.
Suppan said he had talked to both Sorensen and Police Chief Frank Kaminski about the situation. Kaminski estimates he has 11 or 12 non-union employees not covered by union contracts.
Aldermen asked whether they should try to address the fire situation immediately, or wait and address non-union salaries for all the departments at once. While they agreed this type of discussion should have happened in the 2014 or 2015 strategic planning sessions that never occurred, a consensus of the council concluded 4-3 in favor of not trying to solve the fire department situation that night.
thanks Dan
This from Bill Smaha:
2016 F 350. Primary use is for the training division. Will also serve as the back up BC vehicle and a secondary utility vehicle as needed.
2016 Ford F-350 pickup for the Park Ridge Fire Department. Bill Smaha photo
Excerpts from theChicagoTribune.com:
The Park Ridge City Council on May 2 approved new ambulance fees for residents and nonresidents who use their services within the city’s boundaries. According to documents provided by the city, the resident rate for basic life support service will increase from $500 to $650, while the rate for advanced services will increase from $700 to $800.A higher level of advance life support will remain at $950 for residents, while the mileage charge of $15 per mile also will not increase.
The nonresident rate for basic life support will increase from $650 to $825, while forms of advanced life support service will increase by $25.
Patients with Medicare coverage will pay different rates, in accordance with fees that are published each year by the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services, the city’s ordinance on ambulance fees says.
Paul Lisowski, executive officer for the Park Ridge Fire Department, told the city council on April 25 that non-Medicare ambulance fees have not been raised since 2011. The increases were determined based on a survey of 107 suburban fire departments. Park Ridge’s new rates now hover around the average fees charged by these departments, the survey shows.
The fire department does not currently charge for treatment that does not result in transport to the hospital, Lisowski said.
Through an intergovernmental agreement with the Des Plaines Fire Department and North Maine Fire Protection District, residents of Park Ridge will still be charged resident rates even if they are treated in the city by paramedics from these other two communities, Lisowski’s memo to the City Council said.
But residents can be charged different rates if they receive mutual aid service from other neighboring departments, like Niles or Rosemont.
“We are currently in discussions with our other immediate neighboring fire departments to see if we can enter into an agreement with them as well,” he said. “If these discussions lead to any tentative agreements with any other departments, we will bring them to council for their approval.”
thanks Dan
A few additional photos from yesterday’s house fire at 1205 Hoffman Avenue in Park Ridge.
This from Larry Shapiro:
Park Ridge firefighters were called to 1205 Hoffman Avenue just after 7PM Wednesday evening (4/27/16) for a reported house fire. First arriving units reported heavy smoke from the attic of a single-family house and began an interior attack. The alarm was upgraded to a Code 4 for the working fire about 10 minutes later as flames vented through the roof. The fire was contained shortly thereafter and mutual aid companies that had not yet arrived were returned.
There were no injuries. Companies at the scene included Park Ridge Engines 35 & 36, Ambulances 35 & 36, Rescue & Battalion 36 plus 3500. Mutual aid units were Niles Ambulance and Tower 2, North Maine Engine and Battalion 1, Glenview Engine 7, Lincolnwood Ambulance 15, and Rosemont Truck 158.
The fire was declared to be under control as I arrived.
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
more photos at shapirophotography.net
Excerpts from the ChicagoTribune.com:
Last year, Park Ridge Fire Department firefighter/paramedics responded to a record-setting 4,858 calls, according to the department’s 2015 annual report. It’s a number that has Fire Chief Jeff Sorensen acknowledging that the need for adding more paramedics may come as soon as next year. According to the annual report, last year’s call volume was 7 percent higher than 2014 and 12 percent higher than 2013. Of last year’s incidents, nearly 63 percent were for medical emergencies, 60 percent of these requiring advanced life support.
“We are still able to provide quality and expedient service to the residents of Park Ridge, but if our call volume continues to increase at a rapid pace, we will need to reevaluate our staffing levels,” Sorensen said.
A look at call history compiled by the fire department for the last 15 years shows 2007 had the second-highest number of incidents, with 4,561 recorded, followed by 2011, when there were 4,309. Most years hovered just under or slightly above 4,000 calls.
Sorensen points to a few factors for the growing call volume, including citizens living with more complex and long-term medical conditions that require frequent transportation to hospitals, new residential developments bringing new residents to the city, an immediate care center opening in 2012, and shorter hospital stays for ill patients.
Exactly what the fire department’s future staffing needs will be has not yet been determined, Sorensen said, though he does believe the addition of more housing units and overall development in the city will continue to impact call volume.
The fire department has a staff of 50, with 15 paramedics serving on three shifts each. In 2015, the department paid out $315,540 in overtime, largely to maintain the required staffing levels. But adding new staff could be a challenge. Fire department layoffs — as many as 12 firefighter/paramedics — were included in the city manager’s recent cost-cutting recommendations, should the city’s share of money from the state be reduced.
Two ambulances are staffed each day, Sorensen explained, so if a third call comes in and both ambulances are taking patients to the hospital, out-of-town paramedics will need to be called in. That happened about 300 times last year, the 2015 report shows.
Calls involving two simultaneous incidents jumped dramatically in 2015, from just over 800 to more than 1,300. The average amount of time it takes crews to respond to a call was up last year compared to prior years, Sorensen acknowledged, but it still falls below the department’s goal of 360 seconds.
In terms of fires, there were 35 reported in 2015, one-third of which occurred inside residential buildings.
Going forward, the fire department is trying out new ways of responding to calls, including using a chase vehicle instead of a ladder truck to respond with an ambulance on medical calls.
“The goal of the rescue vehicle is to take some of the bigger rigs off the street when practical,” Sorensen told the City Council on Feb. 10, explaining that this will lead to less wear and tear on the trucks and possibly extend their use.
thanks Dan
About Park Ridge FD Rescue 36 mentioned in the article:
This from Bill Smaha:
Trial period for the Rescue 36 runs until April 30. Staffed with one FF/PM and one LT/PM. Designed to assist on ambulance calls and service calls not requiring a fire suppression vehicle. Rescue 36 is ALS equipped along with hand tools, tool box, rope, PFD’s, mustang suit, and SCBAs. If staffing is above minimums, the rescue will be staffed for 24 hours. If staffing is below minimums, it will be staffed from 8am-6pm.
Park Ridge FD Rescue 36. Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
This from Steve Redick:
Took in this job Thursday. Heavy fire was venting from a frame, one-story addition on the back of the house. Exposure B was threatened for a few minutes prior to my arrival. I believe that quite a bit of opening up concealed areas was needed, probably due to the construction features of the addition. At any rate, well controlled quickly. Note that the tower ladder, first due, was utilized as an engine company and supplied all the attack lines.
Steve Redick photo
Steve Redick photo
Steve Redick photo
Steve Redick photo
Steve Redick photo
Steve Redick photo
For the finest department portraits and composites contact Tim Olk or Larry Shapiro.
