No More Rescues?
One part of us says it's logical. (link from Illinois Review fixed)
The other part wonders, especially as the population ages, more people live alone and not everyone knows their neighbors:
- In a dazzling display of bureaucratic brilliance, the City of Chicago has rolled out a new policy for the Chicago Fire Department that essentially boils down to this: Unless you’re visibly on fire, you’re on your own.
The new general order, effective June 28, 2025, sets a brave new standard for how Chicago responds to residential fires under seven stories tall. Under this policy, firefighters are prohibited from entering a burning building unless there is visual confirmation of someone inside—or if someone radios in to say there might be.
This isn’t satire. This is Chicago.
The directive uses a lot of fancy words like “Defensive Operations,” “incident command,” and “scene size-up,” but the bottom line is crystal clear: if you’re unconscious from smoke inhalation (which, incidentally, is how most people actually die in fires), you better hope you’re unconscious in a window.
Obviously, we don't want firefighters risking their lives needlessly.
But how do they (or anyone) know what is and isn't needless without first person information gathered on scene directly, promptly and fully?
It's a weird tightrope to walk.
Labels: fire fighters
posted by SCC at 12:03 AM
72 Comments:
So they only hit the place with water from the outside?
At some time they have to go in the building correct?
Sounds like a good start.
Let EVERYTHING burn in this city and then get the hell out.
Eager cops can run in to burning buildings and act like heroes for a cheap life saving award. That’s right, it’s been cheapened, I’ve seen those awarded for distributing water bottles during a heat wave. CFD have the mayor/CPS union on their side, it’s Chicago so the club protect their own. Ever since CFD Captain(RIP) was crushed by a 10 ton metal beam in a burning garage. Policies are put in place to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
Waiting for new General Order/Special Order to drop :
“Responding officers shall enter and clear the first seven floors of an engulfed structure and immediately advise OEMC of any occupants inside so rescue can be dispatched”.
Ot:
Isn't it time to declare the lake closed due to high bacteria counts. +88 degrees with a high probability of a lead shower later in the evening
So the Second Responders are now moving into the No Responders category.
After the first ghetto fire where firefighters are standing outside with their collective thumbs up their skirts, thereupon leaving after following said policy and the next morning comes to find out someone died from smoke inhalation, the first lawsuit will cause the policy to be revoked. And if not the above fire, then the next or even the next, but when children die, who cut school, the media, the public and the law suits for the children will break the City’s bankroll causing the policy to be changed. Heads would roll as a result.
kinda like the no foot chases
I found this on the Chicago Contrarian X account but not on their website.
“ New policy at CFD, and it's a doozy.
Under a new order, CFD responding to all residential fires at buildings under 7 stories are to approach the art of fighting fires in the most risk-averse way.
This new order places restrictions under which CFD can enter a burning building.
In sum, the new guidelines state CFD must observe a victim inside or have confirmation from an OEMC dispatcher or on-scene witness a victim remains inside a burning structure before entering the building.
This new policy means CFD, who under ordinary circumstances would have likely entered the burning structure to aggressively battle the fire and search for occupants of the home, are now essentially spectators to structures burning to the ground.
This is what CFD now refers to as "Defensive Operations."
In other words, if you are trapped in a fire in Chicago and you are not visible to CFD, you'll have to fend for yourself.
The video attached captures a blaze on the NW Side of Chicago today.
This fire is believed to have started on a back porch, but there was no report of residents trapped in the home.
Note the number of CFD watching the inferno from the street.
This new guideline is motivated by the City of Chicago's desire to reduce the number of injuries or duty-deaths sustained by CFD.
Bad policy, while no one wishes CFD to suffer grievous injury or death, there are hazards to the profession firefighters willingly accept when they are inducted into CFD. Like CPD, the firefighting profession requires men and women willing to put themselves in peril.
This new policy will reduce risk to CFD but increase the risk to citizens in burning buildings.
Aside from the risk to civilians, this new policy exposes Chicago to extraordinary liability. The cost in court is immeasurable.
The City Council must address this. This new policy places our family members, neighbors and residents are now at greater risk and it is turning CFD into curious onlookers as buildings burn.”
Who came up with this, it’s absolute insanity!!!!!!
Check out fireengineering.com, they have copy of what looks to be the order.
“ New Order for Chicago Firefighters: Start in Defensive Mode”
Kinda like our foot chase policy
Will they still respond to the 400 lb ghetto dweller that falls off the shitter and gets wedged between the bathtub and the shitter? "Jus Axin"
I swear. I didn't think that city could possibly get any dumber.
Elected Democrats working to protect the citizens!
The city is adopting surround and drown strategy. They take that approach from a lot of suburbs who are not as aggressive as the CFD used to be . They are being neutered by the city now. The real CFD was proud of their aggressiveness.
And you can bet that it will not be the heads of the ones responsible that are the ones that are rolling.
Exactly!
The Lowly Fire Dispatcher here…
This is in response to the amount of LODD’s in the past few years.
Promoting the best and brightest battalion chiefs and doing away with DEI practices would be an idea. But. That’s crazy talk.
That’s racist!
Don't blame CFD for your dissatisfaction with your shitty job. I wish I took CFD or the Streets and Sans driver position 25 years ago when I had the option to pick. But back then even firemen from the burbs came onto CPD, that how great this department and job once was, I know it is hard to believe but officers used to not not look forward to their RDO's back then. We ALL wanted to run and gun and lock up shitheads. But It has all changed in the last 10-ish years I'd say and has been a disaster since then. Policing is dead.
Surround and drown- exactly what all the suburban fire departments do - no big deal.
I did.
Now, kees me you fool!!!
What about cats ? Will they go in to rescue my cats?
Or car chases, or actually locking people up
Be a damn shame if half the FD hit the medical rolls because they were injured lifting those fat, entitled useless system abusers.
When you promote an idiot like Holt, you’re bound to get idiotic policy.
Will the firefighters do the right thing and say they heard screams coming from the fire building and do a search?
Same as it’s ever been
Only if they can see him/her w/o entering their humble abode.
They have been trying to turn the south and west sides back into prairie since the 60’s.This will complete the job.I started at 57th and Morgan when we moved there was one vacant lot,a lady used as a garden.Google street in any direction and think of any way this could be anything but deliberate.
Less firefights means more money for illegals. Duh.
Most people believe if it ain’t broke don’t fix it, but now we have a person who couldn’t pay his water bill running things and making policy. Boy are we dumb.
Yo, slow da roll. CFD puts it in print after we been saying it for the last several years. All you hard chargers need to heed, slow you roll. CFD is just giving the self-cleaning oven the proper amount of time to completely clean out the crap. Great idea.
A fifth grader (non CPS) could write a better policy
I know we all like to make fun of the firemen and bust their chops, and I will continue to do so, but at the end of the day it’s a friendly rivalry and they are our brothers. If the city is going to be reducing their manpower on their rigs then I don’t want them running into burning buildings and endangering themselves. Let the buildings burn to the ground and pick up the pieces later. Surround and drown.
So RAIN can fully do the job of a firefighter now in the City of Chicago?
But But thats not what they do on the TV show Chicago Fire? I'm so confused.
Does this also mean they'll stop responding to the terminal every time Southwest call when a passenger has the shits😂
Seems like a good job for a robot.
No one signs up for a job that says " suicide mission " as a requirement. Navy Seals don't. Neither do the Feds. And this includes you on CPD. Most fire departments just contain fires from spreading unless there is reason to believe someone is inside. Considering the response time which is actually pretty fast in this city, if someone on the premise hasn't got someone out, that person is probably dead by the time CFD gets there. No one, this includes you as police officer, signed up for a job that has "suicide mission" as a requirement you fulfill. Everyone wants to get home at the end of their shift...
Cant wait for the media to report on the senior citizen black female that died from smoke inhalation while the white battalion chief ordered fire fighters not to enter. Let's not report on who signed off the general order.
Is that Governor McTwinkie you're talking about? a heavy duty wrecker would be needed for that sort of job.
Boy, that should make for an exciting TV show....
Brilliant, troll.
So basically, they don't want to save anyone who owns and lives in single family homes, 2 - 3 flats or anything that doesn't have a large sq ft of living space. Didn't they make similar changes before the Maui and palicades fires? smh
The job always was heavily political and patronage, but it really took a downward turn when Rich Daley the lessor came into office in early 90's. The phony merit system was instituted with the blessing of a federal judge and the pension which was funded in the low 90's started to nosedive for under funding by the city. Now, I see who is the 1st Deputy and I really know what a joke the department leadership is. The men and women in the line deserve better.
The only thing the fire department should cut is the ridiculous “command van” response. It’s just a loaded bus of overpaid do nothing shit talkers!!!
Which departments?
Everything you said is incorrect and I hope you aren’t on the job.
So if you get out of bed, then collapse on the carpet or hide in the bathroom/closet-you aren’t ‘visually’ seen by the FFs outside. Don’t they can see small kids either. I’m waiting for the first fatality that be called racial because the FFs didn’t go inside. ‘He couldn’t been saved but they did nothing!’
The General Order was written by the current DEI Fire Comm. that would never go inside a burning building.
CFD is one of the few if not only(!) fire dept. that until now fought fires from inside. It’s been that way for a long time
New construction materials used is one reason to be cautious about an aggressive interior attack.Most fires today are 1 room fires anyways but I guess they want to expand it and let the insurance companies handle the increase in costs and the cost of homeowners insurance.Follow the money!And reduced liability of the city.
So, do my taxes also not go to pay firefighter salaries if I never call them?
Negative. I came on the job to be a hero. The problem is the CPD has Hero’s as blue shirts in patrol and clouted up scared weasels as the supervisors. The next promotion test should be totally different…..climb a 6 ft wall unassisted, no medical time ever except the Covid mandated medical, 30/30 on carbine, 1.5 mile run under 10 minutes, credit score over 800, and at least 100 arrests in your career.
CFD has an IDOL/OSHA problem. We ended Home Rule practices because over litigation is finally starting to hit the fire service and we could either spend tons of money defending our own accreditation or accept the State camel’s nose under the tent.
Basically, the rules we operate under are now being written by fire chiefs who don’t go to fires and enforced by people who aren’t even firefighters. One of those rules involves “establishing Incident Command,” which is a useless gesture mandated by vollies whose nearest chief Officer is in a different town 18 miles away. Or, we get fined. Under Incident Command, the first arriving officer is supposed to stay outside and play chief instead of supervising their team. What happens then is that nobody is being paid to be the supervisor, and you get incidents like the one where Brian Carey was killed in Homewood years ago, where barely-trained FF’s get it stuck in the wringer because nobody knows how to look out for them.
So, the CFD can either pay money we don’t have, or change rules we no longer have the ability to change, or do what they did: write this asinine order and then shift blame for anything bad that happens to the company officers that ignore it.
Ironically, the TV show depicts the Incident Command System working properly, in that everyone stands around and the camera circles the Chief a few times while he observes and ponders before ordering his men to do the things they already know they should do because they’ve been to dozens of fires and it ain’t that hard to figure out.
You don’t have to they’re always busy the days of fireman lounging around taking naps is long over they spend all day chasing and assisting ambulances.
Home Owners Insurance will go up. If CFD doesn’t aggressively fight a fire, more damage will be done.
Just like my taxes go to schools, to which I've never had kids. What emergency number, for any school, can I call to get some type of return on my investment???
Niles, Park Ridge, Arlington Heights etc…. Surround and drown baby, unless there’s someone inside, they don’t go in !
Pretty much spot on!
But:
The Fire Department like the Police Department has hired and promoted many people who don’t belong on the job in the last 10 years. They want the uniform but when its time to do the actual work they are lingering in the background.
How many have witnessed a complete freeze and further meltdown in the chaos of an active response, be it fire or police? What used to be rare has now become the norm. Gone are the days of gunfighters and men with balls big enough to fill a wheelbarrow!
The men will still be MEN and shoulder the load for those that lack the fortitude, nothing has changed except for actual numbers of the real men!
Not just suburban but most fire departments across the country. Just look back at most of CFD's LODD's, most if not all of them are from being in a builiding where there was no loss of life or sign of life and the building or part of it fell in on the FF. This is smart and it's way too many LODD's late in my opinion.
Now if the city would cut a GO for stopping police from going to mental health disturbances
Firefighter Job Description:
GED education required.
Must be able to watch TV and play video games for prolonged periods of time.
Chili cooking ability a must.
Routine washing of fire trucks.
No hesitation playing the "hero" card whenever a contract renewal with the city comes up.
Bringing out 5 trucks with sirens blazing with 10 men for all fender bender accidents so as to look busy and fool the public.
Put out actual fires the other 1% of your time on the clock.
All interested applicants encouraged to apply.
Death comes to everybody. It's just a question of when.
Only those bodies not yet dead concern themselves with what, where, how and such.
Chalkie
One way or another, the problem is going to solve itself in the next couple years, since every 4 and 5-bugle chief will be mandatorily retired. They need to find a new generation of sycophants and suckholes, and they’re not doing it. Stands to reason some good eggs will slip through the cracks when they have to fill so many seats so fast.
Funny thing about hittin’ it hard from the yard, it hasn’t moved the needle on firefighter injuries and deaths, which are still about 100 a year, same as they were when “Everyone Goes Home (Except the Civilians)” went into effect.
Give them a break. The work hard enough already
Sounds like this is on the Mayor.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/2025/05/09/brandon-johnson-chicago-fire-department-overhaul-contract-talks
Wrong! it is one person that is ducking who does not wanna be a fireman, but wants to say... HEY I AM A FIREMAN!
I grew up with Brian Careys parents in st. Bedes. Great family who came from nothing and worked hard for success. The kid could have been an attorney like dad but wanted to serve the public money be damned
Tragic needless death from working for a mickey mouse dept. The city has always done way to much for certain parts of the city, if they chose to do stupid things with fire in their own houses then fuckem, man the hoses until its out. We have lost too many fireman and cops over stupid people doing stupid shit.
How about we give them some trucks that aren’t 30 years old that can actually make it to a fire?
Not really. They rarely see the inside of a firehouse these days they chase ambos all day long around the clock. It’s not a fire dept anymore it’s an EMS dept. On top of that nobody even wants that job anymore. They can’t even fill academy classes to keep up with retirement. The days of rough and tumble neighborhood kids following the footsteps of their fathers and uncles and grandfathers are over. Adults under the age of 29 are such estrogen filled video game addicted simp incels they don’t want that job or any job.
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