"He's going to be their guardian angel as they train," Orland Fire Protection District Chief Michael Schofield said at a ceremony at the Palos Hills school on Wednesday.

Capuano, a 15-year veteran of the Chicago Fire Department who lived in the Mount Greenwood community, took several courses at Moraine over the years, his daughter Amanda said.

With the donation of the engine students, "will remember what a hero he was for years to come," she told a crowd that included area firefighters and school officials.

She and her mother, Julie, Capuano's parents Mike and Jacqui, brother Patrick and his children, daughter Delilah and son Bodhi, stood by the truck as a firefighter color guard walked past them at the end of the ceremony. At one point, Capuano's father put his hand on the side of the truck above where the Orland district had put the words "In Memory of Daniel Capuano, Dec. 14, 2015."

Capuano also worked for more than 16 years as a part-time firefighter in Evergreen Park, and "a lot of our guys in Orland worked with Dan in Evergreen Park," Schofield said.

The 43-year-old Capuano was searching through heavy smoke on the second floor of a vacant warehouse in the 9200 block of South Baltimore Avenue in Chicago when he fell down an open elevator shaft. He and his wife had been married for 20 years and, in addition to their daughter, had two sons.

Schofield said the engine is "going to serve new recruits (students at Moraine's fire academy) going forward.

The new Rescue 3, built by Metalfab Fire Trucks in Centreville, New Brunswick, was designed according to Tillsonburg's specifications with safety and efficiency in mind.

Smith noted that some of the parts (door hinges) were built by Eberhard Manufacturing, which has a local connection.

Rescue 3 carries four firefighters, rather than five in the old truck, but all four are forward-facing in the cab, rather than having three facing sideways in a back compartment, increasing the safety.

"The truck it replaces is a 20-plus year old design, maybe 25 years old, and concepts have changed," said Smith, "and how we do business has changed."

Rescue 3, a 'toolbox on wheels' is the first of their new fleet, he said, which will function together as a system. Rescue trucks are used for motor vehicle collisions, technical rescue, and scene support.

Storage space is more compact, he noted, but suitable for each truck, and for the type of calls they get. They are not designed as standalone units.

Read more

• 488
• 0
• Article rating: No rating