Downed Electrical Wire Sparked Riegel Road Fire

ComEd crews arrived around 7 a.m. Saturday to fix the problem.

Downed Electrical Wire Sparked Riegel Road Fire

ComEd crews arrived around 7 a.m. to fix the problem.

A downed electrical wire sparked a fire alongside Riegel Road just north of 191st Street early Saturday morning. ComEd workers responded to the scene to fix the problem around 7 a.m.  Stay connected with H-F Patch by liking us on Facebook Thanks to Homewood resident Tom Ising for the tip and video.

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Homewood and Flossmoor Honored as Fire-safe Communities

The two villages are among 88 jurisdictions to pass new construction fire sprinkler ordinances.

Both Homewood and Flossmoor Fire Departments were honored at the Illinois Residential Fire Sprinkler Symposium in Addison last week for passing fire sprinkler ordinances for all new construction homes beginning 2012. Homewood and Flossmoor are two of 88 jurisdictions in the state to have such an ordinance. “Fire sprinklers play a key role in protecting people and firefighters from the tragedies that fire can cause,” Russell Fleming, president of the National Fire Sprinkler Association told Patch. “To date, there has never been a multiple loss-of-life in a home that has a properly installed and maintained fire sprinkler system.” Flossmoor Assistant Chief Keith Damm and Fire Inspector Scott Bugneer received the award on behalf of the …

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Watch: An Alarmingly Simple Way to Avoid Becoming a Fire Victim

Smoke alarms ... they are a pet peeve item on Erika Leader-Young's fire safety checklist. She is tired of witnessing tragedy in home fires because victims were not alerted by smoke alarms.

Fire Renders Morris Avenue Home 'Uninhabitable'

The two-story Homewood home caught fire sometime around 9 a.m. on Oct. 2.

Article Updated on Oct. 2 at 4 p.m. Firefighters believe electrical issues are to blame for a fire that has rendered a home on 18429 Morris Ave. currently uninhabitable, according to Homewood Deputy Fire Chief Clint Johnson. The fire began on the front porch of the home around 3 a.m. on Tuesday morning. Luckily, an inhabitant of the home noticed the flames and was able to safely evacuate the building of all other residents before any harm was done, Johnson said. Despite considerable flames, Homewood firefighters were able to douse the majority of the blaze upon arrival, clearing way for ground crews to move in with hoses to quickly extinguish the remaining traces of fire, Johnson said. While the home is currently uninhabitable, Johnson …

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Flossmoor Pays for Long-Overdue Fire Hydrant Tests

Flossmoor's village board voted to spend $35,000 to test all the fire hydrants in town as part of a "growing concern" over the state of the village's water system.

All 769 of Flossmoor's fire hydrants will soon be flow tested, many for the first time since 2004, after trustees voted to spend $35,374 on a contract for the work during the Sept. 17 village board meeting. According to Flossmoor Fire Chief Chris Sewell, the testing has become increasingly imperative over recent years. “I can tell you that when a fire occurs in southeast Flossmoor, I cringe as our crews open a fire hydrant …,” Sewall said in a memo to the village manager. “If the water main doesn’t break as we open the hydrant, causing us to go elsewhere for a water supply, it most surely will break at some point during firefighting operations or as we close the hydrant after a fire.” Worse yet, subsequent breaks may occur several days …

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Tony Dauginas

10:15 am on Saturday, January 5, 2013

I looked at pages 26 - 28 of the 9/17 meeting agenda packet. All it mentioned was an RFP, but it was not included in the meeting agenda packet, or a listing of the responses they received.   more ›

UPDATE: Transformer Fire Forces Riegel Road Closure

Riegel is currently blocked off from Idlewild to 191st Street as ComEd employees continue to work on the lines.

A transformer fire in the rear of the 19000 block of Loomis prompted a response from firefighters earlier today, according to Homeood Fire Lieutenant Bill Wright.  Readers are telling Patch the incident also sparked several small grass fires. Homewood Firefighters have since turned the scene over to ComEd, but Riegel Road, from Idlewild to 191st is still blocked off. A spokesperson for ComEd said they've been working on repairs since 10:30 a.m. According to him, 50 customers were without power earlier. That number as since decreased to 9 customers without power, according to ComEd.  Several of our readers, however, are reporting intermittent power supply as of 2:40 p.m. ComEd says they hope to be done with repairs before the day's end.

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Dunkin' Donuts Bounces Back After Weekend Blaze

An accidental fire over the weekend stalled business for the store location, but the local franchise is scheduled to reopen Wednesday.

UPDATED: May 22 at noon. A Homewood Dunkin' Donuts is scheduled to be back up and running early this week after a boiler fire over the weekend. Early Saturday morning, Homewood Firefighters promptly responded to reports of a fire inside the 183rd Street Dunkin' Donuts location. "I looked inside and, from floor to ceiling, the store was charged with smoke," Homewood Fire Lieutenant Bill Wright said. According to Wright, firefighters were able to pinpoint the blaze in a storage room. An automatic sprinkler system helped keep the fire in check before the firefighters were able to finish the job with extinguishers, he said. Flossmoor, Glenwood, Hazel Crest and Country Club Hills Fire Departments came to help out as well. "The fire seemed …

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District 161 Drama; Fishy Fast Food Joints: Feedback Friday

A weekly update to help you keep up with the comments and conversations on H-F Patch and H-F Patch’s Facebook.

Our Facebook "likes" continue to climb at breakneck speed. We've already jumped up 38 more since last week. At a time when we were just recently averaging 50 "likes" a month, this is incredible. We have you to thank, entirely. Earlier in the week I had a disappointing fast food experience at a local fast food chain. Wondering if I was the only one who seems like he’s dealing with this all the time, I went to our Facebook page for an informal survey in hopes to get some other opinions on the local fast food scene. The responses varied: A recent decision by Flossmoor School District 161's Board of Education has caused some controversy among our readers. Here's some of what they have to say: THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR CONTINUED READERSHIP …

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Fire on Center Avenue

Nobody is reported hurt in the fire that broke out early this morning.

Homewood firefighters were dispatched at 7:19 a.m. today after a fire broke out on 19055 Center Avenue. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation, according to Homewood Fire Lieutenant Bill Wright. All of the family members made it out safely, he said. We will provide more information as it becomes available.

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