May 5, 2010 - The fire-call no firefighter ever wants to get. Todd Jones and his wife went out to eat last night when his fire pager went off. The address of the fire, was their home out west in Union. Union Fire Department had to immediately go to a MABAS Box Alarm for the fire because there weren't any hydrants in the area, and the winds were high. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough and the Jones' lost everything. Todd, his wife and 2 children were fortunate enough not to had been injured in the devestating fire, but their 2 dogs didn't make it out of the house. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Jones family. Anyone who has extra or old clothes they could donate to the family they are in need of everything. They are in immediate need of:
Mens XL shirts,
Large Tees,
33w36L Slacks
Ladies Size 5
Medium
Girls, Age 8 Size 10
Teen Boy Age 17,
Size 14-16
Gift Cards for Wal-Mart (that's the most local store they have) would be greatly appreciated. For more information, or if you'd like to help in some way with fundraising or anything else, please email us at Helpafirefighter@Elginet.com, or contact Tony Fredrickson 847-239-3001.
Read more on this story here in the Northwest Herald .
May 1, 2010 - Early this afternoon, Carpentersville police received a report of a baby being found inbetween some homes on their east side. Upon arrival of the FD, there as a newborn infant girl who was wrapped up in a blanket. Neighbors said the box had been there since yesterday sometime, meaning that in the first days of this little girl's life, she weathered the worst storm of the year so far. The baby's condition is unknown as of tonight, but paramedics said she was crying, and seemed to be ok for all she'd been through.
**FOLLOWUP May 2, 2010** The Courier News is now reporting that the mother of the baby has been found and that both are now being treated for "non-life threatening" issues and police have not yet charged the woman with any crime.
April 29, 2010 - My favorite Elgin breakfast spot was closed tonight after a fire in the ceiling spread to the outside of the building. Internally, Trefon's Family Restaurant at 1568 Larkin Ave., suffered smoke and fire damage, but an exterior wall as well as a secondary roof area concealed by the facade was also damaged by fire. The fire was first noticed by police officers eating dinner inside and had they not noticed the smoke, damage may very well had been a lot worse. Trefon's may be closed for a short time until repairs and smoke damage are dealt with. Until then.....we're "Crepeless".
Residential fire on the North end of Pingree Grove's district this morning started in the garage as the homeowner was working on a grinder while repairing his pick-up truck. Sparks from the grinder may have ignited some materials, as well as fumes in the air. He immediately got his wife and 2 children out of the house and called 911. Pingree Grove quickly elevated this to a MABAS Box, and then in a short while, went to a 3rd alarm. The homeowner suffered burns to one or both hands but other than that, there were no other injuries reported.
Friday February 19, 2010 - An Elgin squad called out with a suspicious incident this afternoon when driving on Chicago Street and finding a banded packet of cash that a dye-pack had exploded in. Minutes later, Chase Bank at Chicago and Grove called in a robbery. Police had to take precautions since it was unknown if any other suspects were still inside the bank but did get information on one subject that took the cash and fled the scene, described as drunk. He was later found and identified because of the red dye on him and his hands, at National and State by PD and taken into custody. No one was injured.
EPD K9 Officer Travis Hooker during a routine investigation netted a car from out of state with a large bag of what appeared to be marijuana and a back-pack full of cash, along with scales associated with selling drugs. The driver, stopped in the parking lot of JJ Peppers at Chicago and State St., also had a quantity of cocaine on him. Unknown if this was a traffic stop or resulted from a complaint called in by someone. The driver was arrested and the car towed.
The 31 year old father of a toddler left in a burning house and rescued by an Elgin Firefighter, has been charged with two counts of arson, two counts of aggravated arson, aggravated resisting a police officer and two counts of obstructing a firefighter, according to a story just out from the Daily Herald. Beavers (scene in a series of videos on this website), was acting very irrationally and was literally assaulting firefighters after they saved his 2 year old son that was left in the house. Beaver's and the toddler were reportedly the only ones in the home when the fire broke out.
An 2 year old toddler was saved by Elgin Firefighters this afternoon when a basement fire, quickly engulfed the entire front of the home at 517 Cumberland Trail. The call came in as a basement fire and upon arrival of the FD, there was light to moderate smoke coming from a front basement window. That smoke quickly turned to flames and within 2 minutes, had most of the front of the house engulfed in flames. Elgin Firefighter Kevin Hartmann was one of the first firefighters inside the house and when checking the kitchen, found toddler still in the house as smoke covered the ceiling. Shortly after he escaped with the child, the entire kitchen was filled with smoke. Police later arrested the father for starting to fight with firefighters as they tried to extinguish the blaze.
(Sunday Nov. 8, 2009 - Elgin, Il) A 17 year old boy was run down by a boy's mother whom he'd had an altercation with the night before. Click the picture for the whole story in the Elginet Blog.
A call on Prospect Avenue on Elgin's east side this afternoon went from a domestic, to a shooting in a matter of minutes. Police got a call of the gunman walking around the backyard of the home at 461 when EPD Lt. Sean Rafferty pulled into the back of the building and found the man who was suspected of the shooting. After taking him to the ground and waiting for back-up, an ambulance was dispatched to the scene for a woman who was lying in the doorway who had been shot.
Divers and firefighters from area departments had to brave the frozen waters of the Fox River as the car was sumbmerged and slowly moving downstream with only part of the roof visible. It was unknown if anyone was in the vehicle for some time until 2 Elgin Fire Department divers were able to gain entry to the vehicle. It luckily, was empty. The Porsche was stolen out of Chicago and dumped in the Fox presumably from the area of Duncan and the Tollway.
Click the photo at the right to see the whole incident as it played out.
Elginet also got an honorable mention for the published photo (Daily Herald) of Elgin Firefighter Lt. J.P. Fahy holding one of the little girls that were ejected from a Ford Expedition after it rolled over on the tollway in May of 2008. That incident can be found by clicking here.
We'd like to thank the IAFF and Elgin Association of Firefighter's, Local 439 for their recognition.
More information on the IAFF Media Awards Contest can be found by clicking on this link.
