Another Unofficial has come and gone. From all reports, it was a relatively safe and uneventful day of debauchery. While some of that may be due to good judgment exercised by those partaking in the event, much of it can no doubt be attributed to the fine work of our local first responders. Police and fire departments were on-hand to ensure the safety of the revelers, with even an Illinois State Police presence in the campus town area. It was my privilege to ride along with a crew from the Champaign Fire Department (CFD) on the night of Friday, March 4th. It was an illuminating and memorable experience.
After attending a roundtable forum about the state budget impasse at The Accord, my Friday evening’s adventures with CFD began shortly before 7 o’clock. I arrived at Fire Station 1 on Randolph St., close to downtown Champaign. My ride alone partner for the night, fellow Champaign City Council member Clarissa Fourman, was already there, breaking bread with the firefighters on duty. They were all seated around a large wooden table in the station’s kitchen. Pizza was offered, though I declined.
On duty that evening were Lieutenants Andy Quarnstrom and Chuck Sullivan, Engineers John Jenkins, Bill Bleich and Courtney Moravek, and Firefighters Andrew Schneman, Kevin Murphy, Levi Lustfeldt, Mike Brady and Zach Williams. Fire Chief Ludwig was also present. They were all very professional and polite upon my arrival, as well as throughout the night. Pretty soon it was time for the dinner break to be over, and they proceeded to clean-up the kitchen and get ready to head out. Lt. Quarnstrom wanted to do a check of the campus bars.
At that moment a call came through. Campus would have to wait, as it was time for us to roll. The crew that went out on my run were three members of CPD, Clarissa and I. Schneman drove the beast of a fire truck, Quarnstrom rode shotgun, Clarissa and I were in back, and Murphy sat across from me. The thing about fire trucks is, while they’re big on the outside, they’re pretty cramped on the inside. The front area seems to be taken-up by a lot of computer controls and information, while the rear-seating area contains equipment and lots of little cupboards to store things. I sat on a fold-down seat across from Firefighter Murphy.
Sirens blaring, we arrived at the CVS Pharmacy on the corner of Neil & Green to find a person in some distress toward the back, by the pharmacy. CPD members helped stabilize the individual, and an ambulance took them to the hospital. I hope they’re doing better now. Back in the truck, it was decided to head toward campus. We were almost to the Memorial Stadium area, when another call came through. This was for a possible fire in the vicinity of Market Place Mall. The sirens went on again, and we raced through town, heading south to north, to the alarm call. Firefighter Murphy was understandably hot in his heavy suit, and put down the window next to us. “Is that okay?” he asked. “Sure, of course,” I replied, trying hard not to let my teeth chatter as the cold air swept in as we rushed through the streets.
Another fire crew had reached the call before we got there, and radioed-in that it was a false alarm. Someone had simply walked by and pulled the alarm device. “People do that a lot,” Murphy remarked, perturbed. “People think it’s funny.” Our truck’s sirens were turned-off, and we proceeded to turn around and head south back to campus. It hit home how it’s always dangerous whenever a fire crew leaves the station on a call, due to the speed at which they travel to reach the destination, and the unpredictability of traffic flow and other drivers. Prank-pulling a fire alarm is definitely not cool.
We finally made it to campus, parking in front of Kam’s on East Daniel St. There we were greeted by other members of CFD, and followed them into the establishment to do a quick check. It was explained to council member Fourman and myself that the main things they look for are to ensure the place isn’t over-capacity, and that there are no blocked exits. Things were fine on both counts. It’d been years since I’d been to Kam’s, and very few things made me feel my forty-years more than walking through there on a hopping Friday night. The students seemed to be having fun, and no one seemed in danger, so we moved on to The Red Lion Inn.
By now, Unofficial was in full-swing, and campus was fairly turnt-up. We parked in front of the Red Lion, and the throng of intoxicated people waiting in line to get in seemed pretty jazzed to see a fire truck and firefighters pull up. We did a walk-through of the establishment and, again, kids were having fun and everything looked to be fine. Once we were back outside, Deputy Chief Ferber explained how, if there had been a situation of the place being over-capacity, they would have stood outside with a device and counted everyone entering and leaving, to keep the numbers within safety limits. Thankfully, it wasn’t required that night.
After politely clearing the fire truck of students who’d chosen to chill on its bumper and converse about things while it was parked, we moved on to our final stop of the night, which I’ve dubbed ‘Command.’ Located in south Champaign at the Illinois Fire Service Institute, we passed through the main doors and were greeted by the presence of a piece of steel on display from the World Trade Center. That threw me for a loop. Wasn’t expecting it, but greatly felt its solemnity. Moving on, we went downstairs to a long, rectangular room in the basement. The walls were covered in display monitors, some of them showing news channels, others covering various vantage points around campus. Lieutenant Nathan Rath from the Champaign Police Department, along with more members of CFD. This was where Unofficial’s safety efforts were being coordinated for the night. It was fascinating to take it all in.
Shortly before ten o’clock, we were back at Fire Station 1. Clarissa and I thanked the firefighters for letting us intrude upon their shift, and expressed our gratitude. The experience solidified my respect and admiration for all that the Champaign Fire Department does for its citizens. When we sometimes wonder where our tax dollars go, at least in this case we know that they go to first responders who work to ensure the safety of those within city borders, displaying integrity and professionalism along the way.