Chicago firefighters were responding to a routine drill in a Loop high-rise hotel Saturday when a West Side man allegedly took advantage of their distraction and stole a Chicago Fire Department SUV from the scene, authorities said Monday. Joseph Gunn, 43, of the 4200 block of West Cermak Road, allegedly made off with the department-issued SUV of the first battalion chief that was left running outside the Hilton Chicago at 720 S.
- PUB DATE: 12/29/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Chicago Tribune

A two-story stone schoolhouse was built in 1910 at the intersection of Welsh and Church roads in Cumru Township.

The Cedar Top School became the Cedar Top Fire Station in 1957. Subsequent additions have left the station looking "like it's made of Legos," said Jeanne E. Johnston, township manager.

When Cedar Top, Gouglersville and Grill fire companies consolidated into the Cumru Fire Department in 2004, centrally located Cedar Top became the main station. In recent years the township has added more and more patches to the failing roof, which drains poorly and tends to leak into areas between old and less old parts of the station.

Moisture has caused garage doors to rust, creating safety hazards. Part of the foundation of the old schoolhouse has sunk, leaving a visible slant to the roof.

Fire Chief Scott R. Brady said the department needs a new fire station, with construction starting yesterday.

"Why continue to spend a whole lot of money on this building when its days are numbered?" he said.

Township commissioners agree Cedar Top is antiquated, but some are less certain than Brady about what the next step should be.

Last month they approved a line item in the 2016 tentative budget for about $100,000 in preliminary work for a new station, including environmental studies and civil engineering. But they haven't decided on a site for the proposed station.

The process of building a new station would take at least four years, township officials said, during which time more costly Band-Aids for Cedar Top will be required. 

Commissioners want to hear a presentation and learn more about the methodology before proceeding with environmental studies of a specific site next year. 

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The Claremore City Council last week approved a $500,000 loan through RCB Bank to purchase a new $479,725.25 fire engine. The new fire engine is scheduled to replace the current reserve fire engine.

"Our guys did a pretty good job picking out what is best for us. The purchase of a new truck was scheduled two or three years ago, but our shop keeps everything in good shape. This was the first year we were able to keep it budgeted. We did not want to have an engine fail before we could replace it," said Claremore Fire Chief Sean Douglas.

Currently, the Claremore Fire Department has three fire engines in regular use and one fire engine in reserve.

A typical fire engine will serve 15 years in regular use and five years in reserve use. The current reserve fire truck is over 20 years old.

When the new truck is assembled and delivered, it will replace the oldest fire engine in the fleet that is in regular use. The council will be asked to approve the reserve engine, which was bought in 1997, be moved to surplus. The oldest fire engine in the fleet, which was purchased in 2002, will then become the new reserve fire engine.

The new truck will continue a few extra safety features and more storage than previous fire engines. The extra storage will allow for more medical equipment, hoses and tools to be transported.

Douglas will work on making the purchase next week, and will be meeting with both the bank and vendor.

After the truck is purchased it will take about a year for it to be assembled. The Claremore Fire Department is anticipating the new truck will be operational at the end of 2016 or the beginning of 2017.

For more information, view www.claremoreprogress.com

 

A proposal to boost the University of Arkansas’ support for the city’s fire protection will be smaller than hoped, but the Fayetteville fire chief says he appreciates any help dealing with growing service calls and lagging response times.

The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports (http://bit.ly/1OlXg5U) a task force endorsed the university’s plan to contribute money for 10 or 15 years to the city to pay for a new engine or ladder truck.

The proposal goes to the full advisory committee in January, but only after university and elected city officials sign off on the plan would it happen.

The payments would add up to between $600,000 and about $1.6 million, with the amount and years of contribution depending upon which type of vehicles are purchased.

For more information, view www.washingtontimes.com