Cell Phone Tower Shut Down After Reports of Overheating in Control Room

No smoke, fire reported.

Tri-State Fire Protection officials are investigating the overheating of a control room in a building next to a cell phone tower at 1041 North Frontage Road in Darien. The call came in around 11:20 a.m. Wednesday after workers noticed heat radiating from the building, Tri-State Fire Marshal Dave Zalesiak said. No smoke or flames were visible, he said. "The tower is going to be shut down until we figure out what's going on," he said. High-speed Internet service provider Clearwire and cell phone service provider Sprint will also be involved in the investigation, he said. Clearwire field operator Mike McKeon said customers should see minimal, if any, disruption in Internet service. "There's overlapping service here, so when a site goes down, …

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Tri-State Assistant Fire Marshall Named Investigator of the Year

Assistant Fire Marshall Steve Riley was recognized for his achievements for 2010.

Steve Riley knows a lot about putting out fires—he’s been a member of the local fire community his entire career, ever since he began working with his father and brothers in Downers Grove. But what Riley is concerned with as Tri-State Fire Protection District Assistant Fire Marshall centers around not how the fires get extinguished but rather how they’ve started. And it’s his productive efforts that have earned him the title of the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) Division 10 2010 Investigator of the Year. MABAS is a comprehensive statewide response system that coordinates all emergency resources. There are 18 area fire departments included in MABAS Division 10. Associates nominated candidates from a total of 60 investigators and then …

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Tri-State Fire Protection Welcomes Firefighter From Croatia

Take a look inside Kristijan Kovacic’s first visit to Darien and the United States.

When Kristijan Kovacic stepped off the plane from Croatia at O’Hare International Airport, he accomplished two milestones simultaneously:  his first trip on an airplane and his first journey to the U.S. Kovacic, an electrician by trade who volunteers as a firefighter, planned to attend his sister Martina’s graduation from Westwood College. In addition to spending time with his sister for the past two weeks, Kovacic has been a visitor to the Tri-State Fire Protection District station in Darien. The staff gave him a warm welcome and spent time showing Kovacic the ropes and even invited him along on calls. The trip from his hometown of Sveti Durd, Croatia, to Chicago spans more than 4,700 miles, but he said it was well worth the trip.  Both …

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Tri-State Fire Protection District Goes Green

Tri-State Fire Protection District makes conscious efforts to be environmentally and financially responsible.

As the song says, “It’s not easy being green.” Tri-State Fire Protection District can attest that getting to a more environmentally friendly place takes years of diligence and work.  Deputy Chief Paul Ross and Fire Chief Michelle Gibson took some time to talk to Patch about energy and money saving changes that have been implemented at the station.  “We really try hard to be green,” Ross said. The station uses only green products for its daily and large cleaning tasks. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) created a four color diamond rating system that clearly identifies hazard ratings on a one to four scale. Tri-State uses cleaning products with the safest rating—a zero. And in the instance of unavoidable hazardous waste, a …

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Darien Police Reports

Police Blotter: Hit-and-Run Damages Tri-State Fire Station Sign

Darien police reports, Jan. 7-9

Someone damaged the rear window of a car parked in the driveway of a home on the 1000 block of Ripple Ridge between 6:30 p.m. and 1:05 a.m., police said. The damage is estimated at $500. A thief took a woman’s purse from her unattended cart while she shopped at Wal-Mart, police said. The purse held a wallet, debit cards, credit cards, gift cards and an Illinois driver’s license. The items were valued at about $55. A car struck and damaged the Tri-State Fire Protection District Station 1 sign between 5:30 and 6:47 p.m., police said. The incident caused about $150 in damage. No one saw the accident happen.

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It Happened This Week

The Top Five Stories from Dec. 20-26

More than a dozen trucks responded to a blaze in Willowbrook; the mystery behind Argonne's white deer explained; and more.

Even though it was a holiday week, the news didn't stop happening in Darien. Here's a roundup of what you might have missed while celebrating Christmas. 1. No Injuries in Willowbrook House Fire At least nine fire departments battled a blaze that caused about $35,000 in damage to an uninhabited house in Willowbrook, fire officials said. Making the firefighters' job all the more difficult, only one truck could pull in front of the house, forcing the dozen or so trucks that responded to line neighboring streets. The cause of the fire was still under investigation Tuesday and wouldn't likely be determined until after the holidays, officials said. 2. Argonne's White Deer: Dwindling, But Not Departed The mystical white deer that roam Argonne's …

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Officials Still Investigating Cause of Willowbrook House Fire

No one was injured when the blaze broke out around 6:15 p.m. Monday, fire officials said.

Fire officials still are investigating the cause of a Monday night fire that resulted in an estimated $35,000 worth of damage to an uninhabited home in Willowbrook, Tri-State Fire Protection District Fire Marshal Dave Zalesiak said. No one was inside the home in the 16W400 block of 83rd Street at the time of the fire, which neighbors reported to Tri-State around 6:15 p.m., Zalesiak said. Firefighters brought the blaze under control in about 45 minutes, though flames still were visible around 7:15 p.m. from what appeared to be a basement window. Investigators are interviewing the owner, who was in the process of rehabbing the home, about possible causes, Zalesiak said. Tri-State has not released the owner's name. At least nine departments …

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Tri-State Fire Engineer Remembered for Dedication, Humor

Mourners honored Peter Fiala after he lost a decade-long battle with cancer.

Peter Fiala was a serious guy. He took his job as an engineer with the Tri-State Fire Protection District seriously. He took his family seriously. And he took his practical jokes very seriously. "You would never guess he was the type to play jokes," said Tri-State Fire Chief Michelle Gibson. But play jokes he did—many of them on his lieutenant and next-door neighbor Bill Rybak. Once Fiala drove off with Rybak's car and hid it around the corner while Rybak made a stop at his Darien home to pick up his dog. And then there was the time Fiala mixed orange juice with water, spattering the concoction across the bathroom floor while Rybak took a shower. Those were just a few of the memories friends, co-workers and family shared of Fiala, 46, as …

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