It’s the time of year when many people like to gather around a fire, though usually — and hopefully — that fire isn’t large enough to engulf a house.
Earlier this month, members of the New Lenox Fire Protection District, along with Mutual Aid partners including fire protection districts from Mokena, Manhattan and Peotone, did just that after acquiring an old house on North Cooper Road in New Lenox. But rather than sitting around, they held a live fire training.
On March 16 and 17, firefighters used the house to practice skills such as pulling attack hose line, searching for people, ventilation, ladder placement and rescue, according to a release from the New Lenox Fire Protection District.
“All these types of skills kind of culminate into one event,” said Lt. Brian Applegate, NLFPD training officer. “During the drills, we continued to evaluate our skills and worked on improving as the day went on.”
Fire crews conducted controlled burns in different areas of the house. That gave firefighters a chance to practice their skills in different scenarios, such as being the first on scene, searching for victims placed throughout the home, putting out the fire and increasing ventilation.
“We do a lot of fire training in Frankfort, but they are mostly done in cans, which are metal buildings that do not react the same as buildings such as this,” said NLFPD Chief Adam Riegel. “The value of getting structures like this is that our firefighters get a chance to train in an actual residential structure. It gives the firefighters the closest thing to real life experience as we can get, without actually being in a fire. So, this is invaluable training to have for our firefighters. It is something that we don’t get very often, so any time we do, we take full advantage of it while we can.”
After trainings were completed, the structure was burned to the ground.
“We want to thank the property owners for giving us the opportunity to do some live fire training,” Applegate said. “Without them, we would not have had the chance to come together with other area fire districts and practice the skills we all need when working together at a fire scene similar to this one.”
Road work set for Harlem bridge, I-57 Tollway connect
Warmer weather also means it’s also construction season, and motorists on Harlem avenue in Palos Heights and Worth may have to tack some time onto their trips starting April 1, when the Illinois Department of Transportation begins cleaning and painting of the Harlem Avenue (Illinois 43) bridge, over the Cal Sag Channel.
According to IDOT, Harlem Avenue between College Drive (Illinois 83) and 116th Street will be reduced to one lane in each direction, with lane widths reduced to 9.6 feet. Work is expected to be complete in October.
Traveling on area expressways also is becoming more challenging as the second phase of the I-294/I-57 interchange project gets underway.
According to the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority, traffic shifts on the Tri-State Tollway and I-57 have begun as work continues to construct the new interchange ramps that will connect northbound I-294 to northbound I-57 and southbound I-57 to northbound I-294, as well roadway widening on I-294 and I-57.
Work planned in 2021 includes completion of roadway widening on I-57, widening of the I-57 bridge over Dixie Highway, replacing the 147th Street Bridge, as well as continued construction of the ramp connecting northbound I-294 to northbound I-57 and the two ramps carrying southbound I-57 to I-294, including a flyover ramp bridge. Work to widen the CSX Railroad Bridge on I-57 is also scheduled to begin this year.
Traffic on southbound I-294 is reduced from four to three lanes to provide a work zone to construct the new auxiliary lane from southbound I-57 onto southbound I-294. Work will also continue to build retaining walls and reconstruct mainline bridges. Traffic is scheduled to remain in this configuration through summer.
In addition, on I-57, traffic shifts will be scheduled in both directions between Kedzie Avenue and 147th Street as well as between 147th Street and Thornton Road for ramp pier work located in the median of I-57 and for work to widen the bridges over 149th Street and Dixie Highway. After the shifts are put in place, traffic is scheduled to remain in this configuration into summer.
Interchange construction is scheduled to continue into 2022.
Police dogs make virtual visit to classroom
In children and animal news, third graders at Indian Trail School in Frankfort got a chance to meet Will County K9 officers, including Liz, Ryker, Malice and Loki, via Zoom earlier this month.
Handlers from the Will County Sheriff’s Department told the students about the dogs’ training, what a workday looks like and the special bond they have with their dogs and what it’s like to have the dog off-duty at their homes with their families.
Questions the students asked officers included “If I take a shower, would Liz still be able to find me if I went missing?” “Can Liz find a lost dog or just lost people?” and “How high can the dogs jump?” according to a release from the school.
Lincoln-Way West student wins national award
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Jenna Davis, a junior at Lincoln-Way West High School in New Lenox, won a Gold Medal Scholastic Award at the national level for one of her photographs.
Out of more than 80,000 students who submitted nearly 230,000 works of art and writing to the 2020 Scholastic Competition, Davis’s photograph, titled “Vulnerability,” was one of only 2,000 works to receive a National Medal, which places her within the top 1% of all submissions.
Women Who Care donate to 4 K.I.D.S. Sake
Members of 100+ Women Who Care of Will County last week presented a donation of $6,000 to 4 K.I.D.S. Sake. The group raised $4,000, which was matched by 50% by the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation totaling $6,000.
4 K.I.D.S. Sake opened a Food Pantry and Enrichment Center in October, 2019, and during the pandemic, it revamped its operations and began serving an average of 1,200 families weekly. From the end of March through the end of 2020 they served over 100,000 families and over 1.2 million pounds of food with over 48% of their clients being children.
100+ Women Who Care of Will County is a group in which members/teams make a pledge to donate $100 four times a year. At each of the quarterly meetings, members nominate charities, and after a brief presentation the members vote on one to support. Their next meeting is at 6 p.m. April 13 at Prairie Bluff Golf Course in Crest Hill.
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