The Illinois Department of Natural Resources on Monday announced 31 Illinois communities will benefit from more than $225,000 in federal grants to rural fire departments and fire protection districts. The USDA Forest Service Volunteer Fire Assistance federal grant program provides matching funds to aid fire departments in the purchase of new equipment and helps fund training. "This program is invaluable to rural and small-town fire departments which have limited funding," said IDNR Director Colleen Callahan. "Helping these fire departments upgrade their equipment not only makes firefighters' jobs easier and safer, it plays a significant role in protecting residents of rural communities."  

With a state-mandated retirement age looming, longtime Barrington Fire Chief Jim Arie will exit early next year under an agreement that was approved by the village board Monday night. Under the deal, Arie's retirement will be effective March 6. The agreement also calls for Arie, who started in Barrington in 2003, to receive a $30,000 lump-sum payment along with cash compensation for all earned and accrued vacation and personal time. Arie, 64, said the village is working with Northbrook-based recruitment firm GovHR USA in seeking applicants for his replacement through Jan. 22. He said he'll turn 65 on Aug. 3 and that by state law he would have had to retire the day before. Instead, he chose to exit five months early.  

A total of 11 retirees at the Joliet Police Department received a combined $657,270 for cashing out their nest eggs of unused vacation, sick leave and comp time in 2019. At the Joliet Fire Department, 10 retirees received a combined $496,790 in severance payouts. A total of nine city workers received a combined $262,915 in severance payouts this year. Combined, the payouts for the 30 retirees in 2019 surpassed $1.4 million. That money comes in addition to the lifetime pensions that the 30 retirees get. Joliet Patch obtained the payout information through a Freedom of Information Act request to the city. Patch pursued the data following last month's special city council meeting in which finance director Jim Ghedotte painted a grim outlook for the city's finances come 2020.  

A rural Adams County Fire Department is one of 31 rural fire departments in the state who will receive a federal grant from the United States Department of Agriculture's Forest Service grant program, according to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. The Clayton Fire Protection District will $9,968, which will be used to assist in the purchase various pieces of equipment including portable skid mount pumps, hose and a test gauge. In total, $225,126 was awarded to the rural fire departments and fire protection districts. Officials say these grants, which do not involve any state funds, will be used to purchase new equipment to assist local firefighters and to provide training opportunities and exercises.  

Area fire crews battled a fire at the Sycamore Menards early Monday. Sycamore Fire Department responded to a call at 2:22 a.m. at the big-box store at 1825 Mercantile Drive, according to a news release. Firefighters were able to control the flames within 15 minutes. The fire looks to have started on a display shelf near the front of the store, according to the release, although the cause has not yet been determined. Sycamore Fire Chief Pete Polarek said the fire originated in the lighting department to the left of the main entry door to the store. "The fire consumed an area approimately 10 feet by 6 feet," he said. "The flame height was probably in the area of 15 feet or so." Estimated damage currently is at $500,000, according to the release.  

Firefighters jumped into action when an industrial facility went up in flames in Southwest Philadelphia on Monday night. They performed a high-risk move, shutting off a valve within feet of the flames. It happened around 6:45 p.m. at the Point Breeze Terminal located along the 6300 block of Passyunk Avenue. Fire crews responded to a report of a fire showing from an area between two ethanol storage tanks. The fire reached two alarms with the flames burning at approximately 1,000 degrees Kinder Morgan Terminals, which oversees the site, handles petroleum, gasoline, ULSD, ethanol, biodiesel. Roughly eight tanks sit on their 26-acre property in Philadelphia. The company said after the fire broke out, the facility was immediately shut down and all personnel was evacuated.  

The Dallas Fire Fighters Association is hoping to recruit Houston firefighters days after Sylvester Turner was elected to his second four-year term as mayor. Houston's Proposition B, the voter-approved pay parity plan for Houston firefighters, has caused turmoil between HFD and the city of Houston. The union group took to Twitter saying, "Now that Houston has re-elected a terrible anti-firefighter Mayor all of the @FirefightersHOU are welcome to come to Dallas and join our ranks." The stance is a show of support for the Houston firefighters' union, and does not necessarily represent an official stance position of city leaders. The tweet went on to mention the Dallas Fire Department's starting pay, which is $61,367, according to the DFFA's tweet. Turner won the mayoral race by a double digit margin over challenger Tony Buzbee, who had broad support from Houston firefighters.  

Alexandria acting fire chief Corey A. Smedley will step up to the role for good, becoming the first black permanent fire chief in the Virginia city's history. On the heels of what Alexandria City Manager Mark B. Jinks described as a nationally competitive recruitment effort, the city announced on Monday it opted to promote Smedley from his current role as acting fire chief — a position which he has held since the retirement of chief Robert C. Dubé in early July — to lead the city's fire services permanently. Smedley's long career saw him serve in various firefighting roles at the Prince George's County, Maryland, fire department for over two decades before coming to Alexandria in 2015 as deputy fire chief for emergency preparedness. Initially, his responsibilities included updating response plans and working with regional partners on risk assessments.  

Scranton Fire Chief Patrick DeSarno gave notice Monday he will resign from his position effective Jan. 3, Mayor Wayne Evans said. DeSarno accepted a job offer in another field, the mayor said. The decision was not unexpected, Evans said. "I appreciate his doing this and of course I wish him well in the future and thank him for his service," the mayor said. DeSarno, 59, who has been with the Fire Department for 30 years, was appointed as the city's fire chief in 2014 by then-Mayor Bill Courtright. "Since May 26,1989, it has been my honor and privilege to serve the citizens of the best city in the world as a member of the best fire department in the world," DeSarno wrote in his resignation letter. "To have had the opportunity to be the leader of that department for the past six years has been an even greater blessing."  

Mark Hatch said it started four years ago with a simple idea scrawled onto a Post-it note: Make a wall of fame plaque honoring the paramedics of the Burbank Fire Department. The battalion chief's idea became a reality on Thursday when the agency formally unveiled its Paramedic Wall of Fame to a crowd of about 50 former and current members of the department's emergency medical services division, along with their family members. The plaque, painted fire engine red and featuring shoulder patches worn by the paramedics, was adorned with roughly 120 names of everyone who has been a member of the division, with the oldest members dating back to 1975. "We wanted to honor those who started and built the [paramedic] program, those who are currently going through it and then inspire future paramedics who want to get their name on that wall and serve their city," Hatch said.