Today at St. Rita of Cascia High School at 77th & Western Ave. Chicago will send Firefighter Edward Stringer home to Christ. Last night hundreds of Firefighters from across the Midwest attended the wake at Blake and Lamb Funeral Home, in Oak Lawn and paid tribute to Firefighter Stringer. On Wednesday and Thursday, Corey Ankum will be honored back to Christ. Visitation for Corey Ankum is Wednesday at Apostolic Church of God in Chicago. Funeral services are the following morning at the church. God Bless these heroes.
Firefighter Stringer spent his off hours at a campground in Wilmington, Illinois along the Kankakee River. Only yesterday, an explosion at one of the sewage digestion plants of the Kankakee River Metropolitan Agency (KRMA) sent sludge and sewage into that beautiful river that flows north toward Joliet. One of my students at Bishop McNamara High School, Ron Young is the Fire Chief for the Kankakee City Fire Department. Ronnie is married to Deanna ( Dupuis) Young. Ron was a 145 Lb. Illinois State Wrestling Champion, whose sons became outstanding wrestlers and Christian gentlemen.
Like Firefighters Stringer and Ankum, Ron Young and his band of 50 brothers and sisters put their lives on the line every day. My nephew, Patrick Cleary, is a Romeoville Firefighter.
God Bless our first responders - Police, Fire, Emergency Medics at every level of government.
From the Kankakee Daily Journal
Kankakee Fire Chief Ron Young said it is unknown just how much untreated sewage has flowed into the river.
"I don't know if we'll ever have that," he said.
The cause of the explosion remains under investigation.
No one was working inside the digester building when it exploded, Young said. KRMA treats wastewater from Aroma Park, Chebanse, Bradley, Bourbonnais, Kankakee and Manteno. Young said service hasn't been interrupted.
The Kankakee Fire Department has 50 personnel working a 52.5-hour weekly shift (24 hours on-48 hours off) with 5 officers and 2 firefighters working a 40-hour week day shift. There is a Chief, 2 Assistant Chiefs, 5 Captains, 9 Lieutenants and 40 firefighters. 38 members are paramedics, 12 are certified fire investigators and 6 are certified arson investigators. We are supported by two full-time administrative assistants.
