Firefighters Respond to Blaze at Church and Crawford

More than a dozen firefighters were on scene as they put out a two story fire near the intersection of Church Street and Crawford Avenue on Wednesday around 4:45 p.m.

Johnson Shino walked into Anuyu Hair Studio, 4015 Church St., expecting to get a haircut. Instead, he saw a lot of smoke and a whole lot of firefighters. "There was no 'boom,'" Shino said making a gesture with his hands. "Only smoke. It was very quiet" At about 4:45 p.m., Wednesday, smoke from a first floor business caused an entire building to be shut down and evacuated. Windows of a second floor apartment unit were busted out and the smell of smoke was faint in the air. An office next to the hair salon showcased wet carpet from the water used to put out the blaze above. There were at least four fire trucks on scene.  A Skokie Fire Department official said there were no serious injuries. He also added that no one was transported to the …

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UPDATE: Retired City Worker Died After House Fire on Hartrey

Fred Davis, 65, died at the hospital from injuries suffered in a fire that broke out at 1937 Hartrey Ave. in Evanston on Wednesday night. No one else was inside the house, fire officials said.

Update, 1:30 pm Thursday: Fred Davis, 65, died after a fire broke out at his home at 1937 Hartrey Ave. in Evanston last night, according to Division Chief Dwight Hohl. Davis was a retired city sanitation worker, according to neighbor Kelly Young. He also volunteered for years delivering food from the pantry at nearby Friendship Baptist Church to several food pantries in the area, Young said. "He was a nice person," she said. "He'd help you if he could." Original story: One man died after a fire broke out in a northwest Evanston home, authorities say.  The blaze appeared to have started on the first floor of the two-story home at 1937 Hartrey Ave. around 5:15 p.m. Wednesday, according to Division Chief Dwight Hohl. One man in his sixties …

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Child and Nanny Escape Basement Fire on Dempster

A woman and the seven-year-old child she was caring for evacuated a home in the 1700 block of Dempster Street in Evanston after a fire broke out in a basement dryer.

A nanny and seven-year-old child safely escaped a fire that broke out in the basement of an Evanston home Monday afternoon. The nanny heard the smoke detector go off shortly before 5 p.m. and smelled smoke inside the single-family home at 1713 Dempster St., according to a press release from Evanston Fire Division Chief Dwight Hohl. She left the home with the child and called 9-11.  Firefighters responded to the scene at approximately 4:39 p.m. and searched the home for other residents. No one else was found inside, and firefighters extinguished the fire, which originated in a clothes dryer and the attached cabinets.  “Thanks in part to working smoke detectors, the quick thinking of the nanny and the fast response of our fire personnel in …

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Sixteen Displaced in Callan Street Fire

The fire started at around 7 p.m. Thursday.

Evanston firefighters responded to a multi-unit apartment fire Thursday evening at 116 Callan. There were no injuries, but an elderly woman was treated on the scene for shortness of breath, according to Fire Chief Greg Klaiber. Sixteen residents will be displaced, according to Klaiber. He said EPD Victim Witness and the American Red Cross were on the scene to find temporary housing for the affected residents. "A mutual aid box alarm was activated bringing all of Evanston's resources as well as a Skokie Tower Truck to the scene," Klaiber wrote in an email to the city. "The first responding companies found fire in the second and third floor balcony area off the alley.  "The fire communicated into the second and third floor units causing …

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Patch Portrait

Patch Portrait: Glenview Fire Chief Reflects on 24 Years of Service

This week's Patch Portraits also features New Trier's senior class president and Des Plaines' theatre renovator.

This week's Patch Portraits also highlight one woman's hopes of a renovated Des Plaines Theatre and New Trier's senior class president discusses life outside the bubble. Glenview Fire Chief Wayne Globerger has seen a lot of changes since he started with the department in 1987.  “When I started we were still riding on the tail board of the rear of the engine, hanging on,” Globerger told Patch. While he’s fought his fair share of fires as he worked his way up the ranks, these days, Globerger said his responsibilities are mainly administrative. He became fire chief five years ago and today, assists on large or unusual calls. Glenview’s five firehouses serve approximately 68,000 people. Beyond the 45,000 in the village itself, the department …

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Oak Street Building Demolished After Fire

Evanston Fire Chief Greg Klaiber spoke about the recent fire at the 4th Ward Meeting Mar. 16.

The historic building on Oak Street that was the site of a three-alarm blaze Tuesday night has been demolished. Evanston Fire Chief Greg Klaiber said at a 4th Ward meeting Wednesday that the fire department and department of property standards deemed the demolition necessary. “Unfortunately we couldn’t save the actual fire structure,” Klaiber said.  “I made a determination with property standards that this was an unsafe building.  We had a chimney freestanding 30 feet that was unsupported.  The walls of the north were leaning towards the Margarita Inn and we didn’t want that to damage the building. We didn’t want anyone to get hurt walking in and out.” According to Klaiber, the fire department arrived on the scene within four minutes.  …

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Tim

8:55 am on Thursday, March 17, 2011

Word on the street where? I spent a better part of my day talking to fire & insurance inspectors, let alone I stood out there videoing the fire after I called in to 911. No one on Oak Street said these words. Never saw anyone in cuffs led off,and my footage starts before the fire department got there.   more ›

Photo Gallery: Blaze Destroys Historic Building

A three-alarm fire Tuesday night gutted a building on Oak Street.

A three-alarm fire at a historic building in Evanston burned for hours Tuesday night and caused an estimated $800,000 in damage. Click the picture at right to view a photo gallery of the fire, shot by local photographer Jingyang Cheng. To read the full story about the fire, click here.

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Fire Captain Block Promoted to Division Chief

Fire Captain Geoff Block will be the new division chief.

Fire Captain Geoff Block will be promoted to division fire chief of Evanston’s Life-Safety Services. Block is a 24-year veteran of Evanston who “will bring needed experience and complete Klaiber’s command staff structure," said Fire Chief Greg Klaiber in a statement released Thursday. Block will begin his duties as division fire chief March 14, filling the vacancy left by the retirement of Division Chief Gannon. Block will now be responsible for departmental training, maintaining professional standards and administrative services for the other 110 members in the department. Block began his career with Evanston Fire in 1987 as a firefighter and paramedic, and was later promoted to fire captain in 2006. Serving as fire captain, Block’s …

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