Excerpts from a *Daily Herald* article reveal a complex and contentious relationship between the Antioch Rescue Squad (ARS) and the local fire departments. Last year, Stone Park Fire Chief Michael Paige received a used ambulance from ARS, which was equipped with essential medical supplies. However, this gesture of goodwill did not extend to the nearby Antioch Fire Department, which had previously been denied a similar donation.
According to Antioch Fire Department Chief John Nixon, the ARS initially approved a request for an ambulance in March 2014 but later withdrew it a month later. As a result, the department had to spend $69,000 in taxpayer funds to purchase and equip a used ambulance. Nixon expressed frustration, noting that the ambulances and equipment originally came from donations by Antioch-area residents and groups, and should have been available for local use.
Antioch Rescue Squad leaders Brian DeKind and Todd Thommes did not respond to repeated interview requests. However, officials from the First Fire Protection District of Antioch believe the decision may be tied to the ARS’s loss of a contract to provide rescue services—a role now managed by the Antioch Fire Department.
The relationship between the two organizations has been strained for years. In 2012, a sexual harassment lawsuit involving three female squad members led to an Illinois Department of Public Health investigation, which uncovered serious issues, including patient mistreatment and improper medication use. A former treasurer was later charged with stealing over $10,000, and key leaders, including former Chief Wayne Sobczak and President Steve Smouse, stepped down.
DeKind and Thommes took over, but tensions escalated when the ARS and the village of Antioch failed to agree on a long-term contract in May 2013. The fire department then hired an ambulance contractor, eventually purchasing its own vehicles to bring emergency services in-house. By May 2014, the fire protection district no longer renewed the ARS’s contract, opting instead to consolidate all rescue services under the fire department.
With their role eliminated, the ARS donated its ambulances and equipment to other agencies, including the Lake County High Schools Technology Campus in Grayslake, the Newport Township Fire Protection District in Wadsworth, and Stone Park’s fire department in Cook County.
Derrick Burress, principal at the tech campus, welcomed the donation, calling the ambulance a valuable educational tool for EMS students. Stone Park’s Chief Paige said the ambulance, though old and heavily used, was well-equipped with medical supplies. Meanwhile, Newport Fire District Chief Mark Kirschhoffer accepted a second ambulance as a backup for his fleet.
Nixon explained that the Antioch Fire Department now operates with four ambulances, three serving as primary units and one as a backup. To establish this service, the department spent approximately $157,000 in 2013, plus another $69,000 in 2014. While some funding came from a firefighters’ association and a state insurance fund, Nixon emphasized that the ARS’s refusal to donate left the department with no choice but to rely on taxpayer money.
High-temperature 1-color Pyrometer
This classification includes one color infrared pyrometers measuring range start from 700℃.
One color pyrometer determine the object temperature by receiving the sum of the narrow-band radiation energy, around(0.85~1.1)μm, emitted by the object. product detector nornally use si.
In one color mode, pyrometer measure the average temperature in an area. Instrument`s focal length range from 0.35m to infinite, the measurement distance can be infinite as long as the target size is large enough.
One color mode is suitable for measure below object: surface is relatively flat (not curved), and the measurement direction is less than 30°, surface physical and chemical state of the is stable (not in the process of oxidation, vaporization, and liquefaction), and the optical channel should with less dust and without blocking and attenuation. When the background temperature is higher than the measured temperature , the temperature can also be measured in the one color mode.
One color mode is used to measure large objects. Before measurement, make sure object can completely cover the field of view. Generally, object size should be greater than 20% of the field of view.
In this catalog, pyrometers applied to temperature measurement in the various industries, such as: inductioin heating,heat treatment,single crystal furnace, polycrystalline furnace, vacuum furnace, high temperature glass, metallugical forging, also suitable for temperature measurement in a good environment.
industrial infrared pyrometer, fixed infrared pyrometer, 1-color infrared pyrometer, monochromatic pyrometer
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