Latest news with #EvanstonFireDepartment
CBS News
13-05-2025
- General
- CBS News
Family without a home after fire rips through house in Evanston, Illinois
A house fire left a firefighter hospitalized and a family displaced in Evanston Monday. At 10:55 a.m., the Evanston Fire Department was called for a fire at 1911 Warren St., a midcentury ranch house alongside an alley in the southwestern part of the northern suburb. Firefighters encountered heavy smoke upon arriving, and neighboring fire departments were called in to help fight the fire and man fire stations while crews were out. Evanston Fire Department Everyone who lived in the house was able to escape safely, the fire department said. The American Red Cross is helping the displaced family. One firefighter was taken to a local hospital for heat exhaustion. No other injuries were reported. The house where the fire broke out is located just west of Dodge Avenue — the Evanston extension of Chicago's California Avenue — and just north of Oakton Street and James Park. Zillow says the house was built in 1956, and has three bedrooms and one bathroom. Evanston Fire Department A photo supplied by the Evanston Fire Department shows flames blasting out of a basement-level window on the side of the house. The extent of the damage to the house was not specified. The cause of the fire remained under investigation late Monday.
Chicago Tribune
07-04-2025
- Health
- Chicago Tribune
Highland Park tragedy inspires HS student to create trauma response kits
Sumner Silver was not at the July 4, 2022 parade in Highland Park, where a gunman killed seven people and wounded 48 others, but she shared the grief of those who were at the parade. 'I had a best friend who was there at the time of the shooting,' Silver said. 'She had me on the phone as she was running away from the shooting. I was helping her navigate.' That tragedy spurred the Highland Park resident to action. 'It made me really sad for all the people who were there,' said the now 16-year-old Highland Park High School junior. 'I really felt like this is bound to happen elsewhere if we don't do something about it. I thought, 'How can I help minimize the magnitude of such a tragedy?'' She began thinking of ways to help. Silver prepared herself for emergencies by becoming 'Stop the Bleed' certified at the Evanston Fire Department about a month after the shooting. 'I wanted to be able to help out in a situation like that,' she said. The teen felt the need to do more, though. 'I got a lot of feedback from the volunteers at the parade and they mentioned that they wish they could have been able to do something,' Silver said. 'They wish they had the skill set and also the tools to be able to take action in a tragedy like that.' That inspired Silver to create Hope Kits, portable trauma-response kits that can provide life-saving aid for gunshot wounds, stabbing wounds, or other trauma injuries. These kits answered Silver's question: 'How can people who are in such situations help minimize the effects of such tragedy?' Each Hope Kit includes a CAT (Combat Application Tourniquet)-certified tourniquet, emergency wound-packing gauze, and step-by-step instructions on providing first aid in trauma situations. So far, Silver, with the assistance of her mother, Dana Silver, has created over 180 Hope Kits. 'Our goal is to make as many as possible,' the teen said. Silver donated 170 of those kits to the Institute for Nonviolence Chicago. 'We were looking for an organization that directly helps fight gun violence,' Silver explained. 'Their mission greatly aligns with what we had hoped to do with the Hope Kits.' 'She saw the impact we were making and thought it would be a good fit,' said Shunda Collins, Vice President of Development and Communications for the Institute for Nonviolence Chicago. Collins said that some of the Hope Kits are staying with their staff. 'We have a team of victim advocates and outreach workers who regularly are in communities,' Collins explained. Other Kits were given to the group's Peacekeepers. 'They're not on staff, but they are on stipends. They help in terms of mediating conflict and building relationships, being like a connecting point for us to get resources out to communities,' Collins said. 'We believe that if there is an opportunity for us to help, we want to do that.' Silver indicated that they plan to donate more Hope Kits to the Institute for Nonviolence Chicago as well as to local fire departments and possibly the Chicago Police Department. To finance the venture, Silver sells her handmade greeting cards, Happy Notes, at area art fairs. She will be selling them next at the Deerfield Art Festival in downtown Deerfield, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., May 31-June 1. The cards sell for $18 for a set of six cards. 'I'm passionate about art,' Silver explained. 'I wanted to bring a little light in such dark times for my community, so I created a series of uplifting greeting cards directly after the shooting to be able to fundraise for the Highland Park Community Foundation, which supports the victims affected by the Highland Park shooting.' So far, Silver has raised over $10,000 through the sale of her greeting cards; $3,000 for the Highland Park Community Foundation and the rest for creating the Hope Kits. You can purchase Happy Notes or donate to the project at
CBS News
14-03-2025
- Health
- CBS News
What travelers should know about carbon monoxide safety as spring break ramps up
As millions of Americans travel for spring break getaways, some may face an invisible danger. Carbon monoxide poisoning could be a risk at hotels or vacation rentals. You can't see or smell carbon monoxide gas, but it's the leading cause of poisoning deaths in the U.S. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 400 Americans die each year "from unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning not linked to fires." Whether leaking from a faulty appliance or a fireplace, the fumes can fill every room as you sleep. "It's considered the silent killer," said Sean Malloy, field chief of the Evanston Fire Department in Illinois. Travel safety tips Experts suggest making sure your hotel room or rental is equipped with at least one carbon monoxide detector. "You're going to want one at least on every floor as well as near bedrooms and in the hallways outside bedrooms," Malloy said, which is also recommended by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. If the alarm goes off in your home, hotel or vacation rental, experts say to get out of the building immediately. "If I'm in my apartment, Airbnb, wherever I'm staying and the alarm goes off, I know that we're getting about 30 parts per million carbon monoxide," Malloy said. Both Airbnb and Vrbo post on their website whether or not they have carbon monoxide alarms installed in units. Even so, the safest move is to pack one of your own when you travel. Consider taking a portable detector so you can walk around your rental unit and test to make sure the air is safe to breathe. Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning Data shows firefighters responded to more than 4,000 carbon monoxide incidents at hotels, motels and resorts between 1999 and 2020. More than 1,000 people have been hurt and at least two dozen have died, according to the National Fire Incident Reporting System. In recent years, deaths of American tourists in Mexico and the Bahamas have been linked to carbon monoxide leaks. Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning may include: Headache Dizziness Nausea Vomiting Weakness Chest pain Confusion "We might just have a headache, feel nauseous, have something going on, feeling dizzy, where we just think we might be getting sick, and it's actually carbon monoxide that's causing it," Malloy explained. But Malloy adds you could not have any symptoms at all. "You're not going to know it's there, and what it's going to do is it's going to replace that oxygen in your blood," Malloy said.
