Kankakee Water Treatment Blast - Chief Ron Young, Chicago's Fallen Firefighters and All 1st Responders -God Bless You!

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.

Chicago Firefighters - No Stone Unturned for Their Brothers and Sisters

Chicago Tribune Photo.

Chicago firefighters lost two young brothers in the horrific collapse of the building east of Stony Island on 75th Street yesterday. Nineteen Chicago firefighters were injured and several are in bad shape.

I live in a neighborhood that is thick with 1st Responders - Police Officers, Paramedics, Firefighters: City, State, County and Federal.

I know them and see them at Mass, cutting the lawn, shoveling the snow for the widows, coaching little guys and girls up at Kennedy and Beverly Parks, grabbing a Miller Lite at Keegans or Cork and Kerry, attending wakes and funerals and never have I heard one of these public servants ever tell a war story to civilian like me.

That is for those who share their perils.

I listen to bar stool philosophers and disappointed and bitter people beef about ' the pension rich tax hogs.' The Chicago Media, in between the purple draped funerals of cops, firefighters, or others who charge into peril, takes cheap shots at firefighters and cops in the name of Better Government High-mindedness. Only last week a cranky and sophomoric series of articles beefed about the drill conducted to remove siding from a home in Mount Greenwood. As Vice President Biden might opine -BFD. A real journalist, like the Chicago Sun Times' late Ray Coffey would never soil his fingers with such pusillanimous ink. Ray Coffey understood danger and respected men and women who ran into peril.

The reality is to be witnessed in the photo up above - not one green-black coated and helmeted figure is inactive. Every heart and hand is digging and clawing its way to bring hope to their brothers under the bricks, rubble and ruin.