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Posts Tagged Peoria FIre Department
Peoria Fire Department news
Sep 18
Excerpts from 25newsnow.com:
Peoria FD Engine 3 was while responding to a call around 9:50 a.m. Monday when the engine was hit by a vehicle in the intersection of South Western Avenue and West Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. That driver was removed from their vehicle by firefighters and taken to a hospital. The driver reportedly went through a red light
Excerpts from centralillinoisproud.com:
In October of 2023, Peoria Fire Chief Shawn Sollberger announced the new Fire Chaplain Program and its leader, Chaplain William Preston. On Tuesday, all twelve stations have their very owner chaplain.
The mission, to provide mental and emotional support to firefighters during and after trauma. They are also there for the community as they go through, potentially, the worst day of their life. House fires, medical calls, anywhere they are needed, they respond.
Modeled from the Peoria Police Department’s chaplain program, the fire chief thought it would be a great idea to have someone available for his crew and the community.
“The average individual deals with about four traumatic events in a lifetime right. But a firefighter sometimes sees that in a day. So I think just to have someone to talk to, even if it’s not spiritual, religious, but someone who’s outside of that battle space, outside of that challenge that they’re in every day, that is just kind of a breather, a refresher, a breath of fresh air.”
Preston said helping firefighters cope with some experiences on the job can make them more efficient at serving Peoria.
Peoria Fire Department news
Apr 11
Excerpts from centralillinoisproud.com:
Peoria firefighters responded to almost 5% more calls in 2023 than in 2022, the department said Wednesday in their annual report. Of the 21,267 calls, nearly 80% were medical in nature. Only 4% or about 851 calls, were fire-related.
Response times, a key point of contention the department has had when it comes to budgetary issues, were less than six minutes for medical calls and about 10 minutes for fires.
Of the fire incidents in 2023, 488 were structure fires, 88 were vehicle fires, 82 were outside rubbish fires, and 67 were natural vegetation fires.
The report also highlighted the city’s effort to investigate the cause of fires. In 2023, more than 153 fires were investigated for possible arson, and of that total, 52 were deemed to be intentionally set. The rest were either accidental or undetermined. Nine remain under investigation.
Peoria’s 12 fire stations are staffed by 185 uniformed personnel with 12 engines, three aerials, five specialty teams, and two certified arson dogs.
As part of their efforts to make the community safer, the fire department helped install 190 smoke detectors and 77 CO detectors across the city last year.
The full report is here.
Peoria Fire Department news
Mar 20
Excerpts from centralillinoisproud.com:
Peoria Fire Department Capt. Nick Hansen and Firefighter Tobi Roderick will receive the Firefighting Medal of Valor awarded by the Illinois State Fire Marshal’s office. Such a recognition is very rare, with the last such medals coming close to 20 years.
The department will hold a press conference on Tuesday, March 26 at the central fire house to honor the two men, who will also be recognized in May during the 31st annual Firefighting Medal of Honor awards ceremony in Springfield.
Both were nominated for their rapid rescue of an unconscious victim in a house fire on April 17, 2023. Their fast intervention, tactical skills, and zero hesitation in risking their own life saved the victim’s life, according to the Peoria Fire Department.
The fire occurred in the 5300 block of North Stephen Drive. Crews were called to the house at 12:30 a.m., and as they were racing to the scene, they heard a person was unresponsive inside the home. Officers with the Peoria Police Department attempted to get inside the house but could not due to the flames and heat.
On arrival, firefighters observed heavy smoke and fire as half the home was fully engulfed in flames, and several firefighters made a rapid entry into the house and removed the victim who was barely breathing. The woman was taken to OSF Healthcare Saint Francis Medical Center where she was later reported to be breathing.
A dog died in the fire. No other victims were reported. The house’s second story over the garage partially caved-in.
Excerpts from 25newsnow.com:
It’s been 41 years since Peoria firefighter Vernon “Butch” Gudat died in the line of duty, but Friday, the department and his family members celebrated his legacy.
John Smith worked for the Peoria Fire Department for 29 years. After he retired, he picked up woodwork. His hobby of building tables started when Peoria Fire Chief Shawn Sollberger asked Smith to build a table for the new firehouse, Station 4.
Smith has finished several tables since then, the most recent being a dinner table for Fire Station 10 in honor of Gudat, where he was working when he responded to a fire in downtown Peoria on January 23, 1983. He died that morning in the line of duty.
Both of Gudat’s kids were at the reveal on Friday and say it’s amazing to see the fire department continuing to honor their dad 41 years later.
To this day, Vernon “Butch” Gudat is the last Peoria firefighter to die in the line of duty.
Excerpts from centralillinoisproud.com:
Local firefighters took the time to spread the spirit of the season at the OSF Pediatric Floor on Tuesday.
Firefighters along with their families sang Christmas carols to children and parents throughout the floor while passing out gifts.
For Rick Waldron, Captain of the Peoria Fire Dept., it’s the perfect way to provide the kids a welcome respite during the holidays.
“The kids always rush to the door if they’re able. The parents love seeing the kids light up, It’s just a good distraction for them, I can’t imagine what some of them or the parents are going through. So when we get up there and they kinda hear the guitar and they hear us singing Christmas carols, they kinda light up and they start making requests,” said Waldron.
Peoria Firefighters Local 50 has been singing Christmas carols to OSF Children’s Hospital for the past decade with no end in sight.
Excerpts from centralillinoisproud.com:
As Peoria city council budget discussions continue, council members are looking at details regarding the $321 million budget.
The topics of discussion for council members at Tuesday’s meeting included rescue squads for the Peoria Fire Department. Budget reductions in recent years have impacted the city’s fire department with the decommissioning of Rescue 1 and Rescue 2 in 2018. Those responsibilities have been repurposed. The rescue squad is currently a jump company.
In 2023, that squad has been called upon around 600 times. It will cost $1.2 million to reinstate the rescue squad.
One council member pushed back a bit on the proposal to reinstate the squads. He believes the city is in a good financial position, and funding rescue squads and other projects could cause problems further down the road. He was the only council member who voted no. His reasoning stemmed from wanting to fully staff the rescue squad rather than making firefighters work overtime. He cited mental health issues like PTSD as a potential ramification.
Excerpts from centralillinoisproud.com:
The Peoria Fire Department has started a new Fire Chaplain Program to add support to their firefighters and the Peoria area community.
Pastor William Preston has been named Lead Fire Chaplain for the department. His duties include adding emotional support to the firefighters and the communities in a time of hardship. The goal is to have one chaplain assigned to each of the twelve fire stations in Peoria, eleven positions have already been filled.
The firefighters are welcome to talk to their chaplains about anything from a bad day at work to trauma they may have suffered on the job, and the chaplains will also serve the community by responding to accidents to support the victims.
The new program is an opportunity to provide extra support to firefighters in a physically and mentally demanding job so they can better serve their communities.
Excerpts from 25newsnow.com:
A 72-year-old man has died and two other people were injured during a house fire in Peoria.
A passerby alerted the fire station down the street around 6:55 a.m. that there was smoke coming from a house in the 3400 block of North Gale.
Both a firefighter and a neighbor sustained non-life-threatening injuries while trying to save the victim, and a dog was rushed off by animal control. The fire was put out within 10 minutes.
This is the first Peoria fire fatality in two years.
The damages are estimated at $40,000 and the house is reported a total loss. The cause is under investigation.
