Results tagged “chicagofiredepartment”

Around 2:06 a.m. this morning in the Heart of Chicago neighborhood on the west side, a 2-alarm fire broke out on the 2000 block of West 23rd Street in a 2-story frame apartment building, said Chicago Fire Department spokesman Chief Kevin MacGregor. Two 2-story frame buildings adjacent to the building where the fire originated also caught on fire but only sustained minor damage, MacGregor said. By 2:20 a.m., the fire was struck out and officials began conducting a search of the building around 3 a.m., MacGregor said.

In his 2010 budget presented last week, Daley included 24 unpaid days (12 holidays, 12 furlough days) for all non-union and many union city employees. One group he can't force these unpaid days upon are the Police and Fire Departments. But that's not stopping Daley from making overtones suggesting that those departments should take one for the team and join the unpaid train. Said the Mayor, “Everyone has to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. And that’s why I’m taking 24 days without pay, and I got other people to take that, because you have to show that government understands the suffering that is going on throughout your communities.”

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin announced earlier this week that the Chicago Fire Department was the recipient of a $779,520 grant courtesy of the United States Fire Administration, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security. Said Durbin, "Our nation's firefighters are called upon day after day to protect America's citizens. As these brave men and women put themselves in harms way, we must ensure that they are equipped with the best tools possible to do their jobs well, and today's grant will go a long way toward meeting that goal." [WBBM 780 AM]

The City of Chicago has filed suit against Alltown Bus Service for $350,000 stemming from a March 2007 accident that killed a Chicago fireman. A school bus driven by Darlene Lewis was involved in an accident with a fire truck responding to a call. Twenty year CFD veteran William Grant, 44, was killed in the accident. The money is to cover the cost of repairing the fire truck and a light pole damaged in the accident.

Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford says the paramedics had an open mic on the radio they use to talk to the O'Hare Communications Center, and that the paramedics used the N-word in conversation between themselves on January 9.

Continue reading "CFD Suspends Two For Racist Language"

Security at O'Hare missed about 60 percent of bomb-making materials.

A dog named Miss Pickles was rescued from the Chicago River last night. Miss Pickles's owner Claude was walking her and his three other pooches—yes, on leashes, according to reports—near Chicago and Halsted when Miss Pickles, a bullmastiff, started chasing a rat. She wound up running right into the water, so Claude called 911. After falling in the water, Miss Pickles began to paddle eastbound underneath the bridge, before heading north around the Goose Island...

As part of the old Brach's legacy was being blown up for Batman, intentionally causing a blaze, there have been several other fire related bits in the news as well. The police Bomb and Arson Section and Chicago Fire Department are conducting an ongoing investigation of a warehouse fire that started Thursday night in Bridgeport. Just before 10 p.m., a fire was reported at a building near Halsted and 36th Streets in the 3600 block...

Thanks for your help, Rod. Blagojevich wants to get rid of the "gift card grinch." It's a loophole that lets your gift card lose its value over time. Police on the Northwest Side have issued a community alert for a suspect in two attempted sexual assaults -- One on a 16-year-old girl, in the 3100 block of north Sawyer about 11 p.m. Sunday; the other a 23-year-old woman near the 3000 block of north...

We do more than just report on negative cop news around here. Really, we do. So! Today we bring you (drumroll, please) news about some controversy rumbling over in the Chicago Fire Department. An assistant deputy chief paramedic, Donald Walsh, is accused of asking the race of a paramedic requesting time off to care for a sick child. The paramedic asked a supervisor for the time off, the supervisor then went to Walsh, who allegedly...

Last Friday, Chicago firefighter William Grant was killed when Truck No. 51, en route to a reported fire, was struck by a school bus. Yesterday, close to 1000 mourners gathered to pay tribute to Grant at his viewing, funeral and burial. In the wake of all of the negative cop coverage as of late, it was refreshing to read about a dedicated, good man who was loyal to both his family at home as...

Way back in July, Chicagoist brought you glad tidings of a vital upgrade for city firefighters. After decades of wearing outdated equipment, the Chicago Fire Department was finally on track to get new protective gear like most major cities in the U.S., worth $10 million. Thighs and groins of firefighters citywide rejoiced, for they would now be heavily protected, compared to their current unwelcome exposure in a fire. Everything, it seemed, would be all right....

Streets around 2 East Randolph are closed after a pedestrian was hit by concrete falling off the building after 4 p.m. A Chicago Fire Department spokeswoman did not know the woman’s condition. She did say no one has been taken to the hospital. A pedestrian was injured this afternoon when she was hit by concrete falling off a building under construction in the Loop, a Chicago Fire Department spokeswoman said. Concrete is reportedly falling from...

It hasn’t been all that long since Chicagoist was in high school, but a lot has changed. Instead of passing notes to arrange fights, students now use their MySpace accounts. Then again, a lot has stayed the same. Bad things still happen in the lunchroom, and principals can still be total creeps. Either way, we’re just glad we’re out of there.

Chicagoist has a huge sciencey streak in us. One of our favorite experiments in high school chemistry occurred when our teacher put flammable liquids with progressively higher numbers of carbons (propane, pentane, even nonane!) into an empty water cooler bottle, which he proceeded to light on fire. Man, was that cool, seeing those licks of flame kick around the bottle like a pyro's wet dream. We all knew it was a potentially dangerous situation, making it all the more savory. Studies in fire are precious indeed.

"Wave Swinger" via idontlikeribena

With the five-year anniversary on Monday, firefighters from Illinois and Wisconsin are riding to New York to honor the victims of the Sept. 11 atacks. On Wednesday at 9:11 a.m., the ride - organized by firefighter Tom Maloney - commenced, CBS reported.

On Friday, the Tribune reported about 5,000 Chicago firefighters would receive new protective gear to replace decades-old equipment. Already, other major cities have upgraded to the higher-tech gear, and Chicagoist thinks it's about time we join them.

On Sunday, March 26th the Chicago Storm take on the California Cougars at 4pm in a Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) match-up. After the game, fans are invited to stick around to see a second match between the Chicago Police Department and the Chicago Fire Department. The second match will directly follow the Storm's game at the UIC Pavilion. The fire and police departments have played each other in different sports before, but this...

Tomorrow on your lunch break head over to Daley Plaza where they'll be celebrating Chicago Moves Day with activities from 11am - 1pm.

So we've all been hearing about how Chicago is no longer the murder capital (Congrats, NYC on your new title!) and how in 2004 there were 155 fewer homicides, right? But did you know that the number of fire fatalities in the city is at a 25-year low? The Chicago Fire Department says the city had 35 fire-related deaths last year - compared to 55 in 2003, 185 in 1980, and a record of 196 in 1977.

Chicagoist was walking down LaSalle Street at Madison at about twenty to two when a fleet of fire trucks came flying down the street. Their destination? 135 S. LaSalle, the LaSalle Bank Building. It was only eight days ago that this same address experienced a significant fire on the 29th and 30th floors. The Chicago Fire Department responded en masse, with no fewer than four pump trucks, five ladder trucks, and a battalion chief.

Prior to September 11, the nation's deadliest fire was a December 22, 1910 blaze at the Chicago Stockyards that killed 21 Chicago firefighters and the city's chief fire marshal. Right now all that exists to commemorate these firefighters is a plaque at City Hall.

The Chicago Fire Department is feeling the heat again. Sexually suggestive remarks about Molly Sullivan, a senior female member of the Fire Department, were posted in an internet chat room operated by a Chicago firefighter. Sullivan was reportedly referred to as a "big chested babe" and as a "hotty" in an anonymous posting. Sullivan, a four-year vetran of the department, said she was "personally sickened" by the posts. This, after the Fire Department's problems...