This blog is maintained for the sole purpose of allowing the people of Peru and those interested in the cities of the Illinois Valley to express their views.
“It doesn’t take a majority to win, just a tireless minority that will keep starting brush fires in the mind and hearts of their fellow men.” Samuel Adams
Sunday, January 01, 2012
Westclox building is afire
Westclox building is on fire with strong winds blowing, calling out ESDA for traffic control. Calling out mutual aid. Sounds like this is very bad. Route 6 is closed and no traffic allowed down from any of the side roads as Pulaski or Prospect.
34 comments:
Anonymous
said...
I just heard about this about ten minutes ago, my friend told me. I'm new to this area but anything like this is just horrible.
This is the west end of Westclox and homes are being evacuated nearby. Smoke and ash are very bad and blowing a long distance. I heard that ash was even seen as far as Marquette Rd. LaSalle, Utica and possibly Ladd is assisting. We were moved from 5th street up to 6th because of the smoke and ash. You can hear walls and sides coming down. Partial collapse of the back and something about a skywalk area. Bureau Cty is assisting.
Ashes and large debris from the fire has been raining down since 12:15 in north peru from the fire. Smell was awful and it seemed that this could have been a neighbor becasue of the ash and smell.
Kinda odd how it started at around midnight, when its now 2012, and the place made clocks and wrist watches, and there is 12 numbers on a clock, doesn't that sound suspicious to anyone??
God be with everyone fighting this fire and keep them safe also be with all the families that have homes near by. Such a horrible thing to have happen on new years. This is no way to start out the year 2012
I thought it was suspicious because a lil before midnight til right after midnight u could hear and see fireworks and then all of a sudden over the police scanner was the westclox is on fire. I have been keeping. Updated from several websites and the scanner and they say that appx 20 fire departments are there and that smoke is as far up as I-80. Also that with the size of the fire and the winds acidic ash has been seen as far as Marquette st in lasalle and north to shooting park rd. It's such a huge lose! Let's just hope and pray for the safety of all the responders and the other businesses, homes and people near by.
The entire area is still blocked off. I did manage to get as far a Rudy's from the east side. I talked to a friend of mine on the Marseilles Fire Department - he said the plan was to let it burn itself out. WLPO has reported that the cause has been confirmed as arson - two kids (15 & 17) are in custody.
There was nothing the firefighters could do besides watch it burn. I read on the news-trib that the fire dept trained and toured the facility in case something like this happened. In my 15 years as a peru firefighter I never once was in the westclox building, did any drills in the building or seen any pre plans on the building.
5:29 PM Pat was NOT slamming the fire dept., merely stating what he remembers as a member of the PFD. If anything your comment makes me think that there really is a problem within the department with people understanding each other and making the department the best it can be. Come on guys and show some civility toward each other. It sounds like Pat's statement is true?
Lois, where is our fire cheif, if he's out of the state or something on vaction I understand why he has not been there, if he has not been out of the area then I think it's time to replace him and at the very least we don't need him in charge of our ambulance service. joe witczak
I believe fire cheifs have families and lives outside of work...and the fire department. You are not going to make 100% of all calls, nor does the cheif for the department i work for. Everyones emotions are high after an incident like this...I dont think your comment was appropriate.
Anonymous, if you read my post I said I understood if he was on vacation no problem, if I stand by my statement. I signed my post I don't see a signature on yours. joe witczak
Your comments are out of line Joe. if Chief King happened to be out of town when that call came in I'm sure nobody feels worse about that then the chief himself. City officials do have the right to leave the city limits. And, when they do they sure as hell don't need anybody trying to exploit a community tragedy for political or personal purposes. I know who was in charge when this call came in and I know who is in charge right now. We have an entire department to support and thank for this effort. This is no time to criticize.
Steve, I said no problem if he was away, everyone needs and should get time away, I guess you can't read either Steve. I didn't mean it to sound like I was exploiting the situation. I guess I just don't think that way, I'm sure you would have never done that since you thought of it and brought it up Steve. joe witczak
Why be so critical of jeff king? The fire dept did a great job, no argument about that. That all starts from being prepared from the top down...duncan also did a great job. If jeff was running the department so poorly I think it would have showed. Maybe you should have waited to post your comment until you heard the whole story of why he was not there....
I really think you misunderstood Joe's comment. Go back and re-read it please. It's missing some punctuation but he stated it was fine if he was out of the area. But if he was in town he should have been there.......
Irregardless of who was in charge, I offer my gratitude for all the fire fighters who responded & continue to respond to this fire. I work in that building, I was there only moments after the call came in. They managed to save the entire north building, sparing many jobs, mine included. Several years ago, my neighbor burned in the wee hours of the morning. My home suffered nothing, not even smoke damage, even though the structures were only about 15' apart. I commend these brave & talented men & women & offer a HUGE thank you, for today's tragedy & the tragedy of the past. We are blessed to have them on "our side".
Thank you for your well said comment, I agree with you whole heartedly. Whoever was in charge is not important and what was important was that Jim Duncan, Jeff King and LaSalle Fire Chief Bacidore all did a commendable job plus anyone from anywhere else who assisted the Peru fire fighters. And of course we thank all of the firemen who had to fight this fire with some of the worst weather possible. A job well done.
To Joe - If I misunderstood your comment I apologize for that. Maybe we're all a bit edgy at the moment. There are some who seem to think they can exploit the fact that Chief King happened to be out of town on vacation when the call came in as if that were an indication of poor leadership. Not so, my understanding is Chief King returned home asap and immediately took charge of the situation.
Steve, yes he did and it was very very commendable that he flew back from vacation asap like he did. Cudos to him and everyone involved in this huge operation. we are very lucky to have the great emergency services that we enjoy here in Peru. joe witczak
Steve: I think the problem in this area (and probably many places) is the lack of communication between those who know the answers (have an in) and those who are just seeking the answers because they are concerned.
Fire chief jeff king vacations numerous times per year every Year. Regarding any fire and statistically a higher number of fires on new years eve chief kings chic to be out of town knowing the possibility of his own departments manpower could be lower than usual due to celebrating new years. I hope all of chiefs kings vacations are documented ! Our asst. Fire chief Duncan covers for chief king all the time. I wish I could get to vacation 30 plus days or more a year and get a check. Good job asst. Chief Duncan and and all responding department of police and fire for keeping the beginnings of the fire under control. God bless everyone who assisted!
To all firefighters and police departments , thank you!!!!for your time and energies during this historical fire and for your service you provided. I believe this fire is enlightening the public into other issues regarding perus fire department. How about peru's mayor , the two alderman who are in charge of fire safety do a internal investigation (asking honest firemen) as to the fire chief kings MIA's throughout the time since he has been chief of the fire department. Possibly, if truth be known maybe we as taxpayers should be paying that position a lesser salary due to his unavailability throughout the year. Not only chief king paid salary for fire chief, he also gets paid for each call he attends, and he is being paid approximately $1,800 a year to be if a safety committee, and let's not forget we taxpayer pay for a response vehicle that he drives around town in . What a package it is!! Let's give Asst. Fire chief Duncan a raise. He so deserves.
Time and patience of the taxpayers will tell all . Truth in time will prevail. Fires of this magnitude take time. Job well done by ALL departments who assisted in the westclock fire. And we citizens of all communities thank you.
Im wondering who is in charge of and how often it's done and documented regarding the businesses fire equipment, Ex: up to date and tagged that a businesses extinguishers are in compliance. I do know that when Gary Eccles was fire chief he was personally going into Peru businesses and checking. Hey, Peru business owners, has anyone from the city checked yours?????? If so, did u sign anything saying you were inspected? Or is just understood that you were? Safety is our concern here. I would like these questions answered and see actual documentation if available, which should be disclosed to the taxpayers. Thank you. Maybe Rodney Perez could find out and reply sometime in the future after things with westclock are under control. Thanks again.
It seems that issues are starting to come out. If it's true that our fire chief is not available on a continuous basic due to numerous vacation per year and still being paid a yearly salary by peru's taxpayers, then maybe the city needs to re-evaluate it's policies. Possibly this was a bad judgement call on fire chief jeff king. New Years Eve would definitely not be my choice to be out of town if I were in his position!! I would need the most firefighters be at ANY fire call that may come in, especially truthfully knowing some of my guys wouldn't be at the fire call due to the holiday. Therefore, I would make the right decision to be available as chief, just in case!!! ? How long has asst chief Duncan been on the peru's fire dept? How long as asst. Fire chief? Wasn't he asst. Fire chief Duncan the asst. Fire chief when Gary Eccles was fire chief for many years?? Good job Duncan and to all departments of the police and fire communities who contained this fire in it's beginning stages. And, let's not forget LaSalle's fire Chief Andy Bacidore and his crew. We are all hoping for a full recovery of your firefighter Steve Smith.
34 comments:
I just heard about this about ten minutes ago, my friend told me. I'm new to this area but anything like this is just horrible.
This is the west end of Westclox and homes are being evacuated nearby. Smoke and ash are very bad and blowing a long distance. I heard that ash was even seen as far as Marquette Rd. LaSalle, Utica and possibly Ladd is assisting. We were moved from 5th street up to 6th because of the smoke and ash. You can hear walls and sides coming down. Partial collapse of the back and something about a skywalk area. Bureau Cty is assisting.
troy grove is on their way
Ashes and large debris from the fire has been raining down since 12:15 in north peru from the fire. Smell was awful and it seemed that this could have been a neighbor becasue of the ash and smell.
Kinda odd how it started at around midnight, when its now 2012, and the place made clocks and wrist watches, and there is 12 numbers on a clock, doesn't that sound suspicious to anyone??
Such an awful thing to happen.
God be with everyone fighting this fire and keep them safe also be with all the families that have homes near by. Such a horrible thing to have happen on new years. This is no way to start out the year 2012
I thought it was suspicious because a lil before midnight til right after midnight u could hear and see fireworks and then all of a sudden over the police scanner was the westclox is on fire. I have been keeping. Updated from several websites and the scanner and they say that appx 20 fire departments are there and that smoke is as far up as I-80. Also that with the size of the fire and the winds acidic ash has been seen as far as Marquette st in lasalle and north to shooting park rd. It's such a huge lose! Let's just hope and pray for the safety of all the responders and the other businesses, homes and people near by.
is the fire under control yet
i have footage on youtube, type in peru westclox fire
Has the Peru Curves been affected
We did not get to bed until 4 and just now getting up. I would imagine Curves has been affected to some degree if not a lot.
The entire area is still blocked off. I did manage to get as far a Rudy's from the east side. I talked to a friend of mine on the Marseilles Fire Department - he said the plan was to let it burn itself out. WLPO has reported that the cause has been confirmed as arson - two kids (15 & 17) are in custody.
There was nothing the firefighters could do besides watch it burn. I read on the news-trib that the fire dept trained and toured the facility in case something like this happened. In my 15 years as a peru firefighter I never once was in the westclox building, did any drills in the building or seen any pre plans on the building.
Really Pat? I think there are more important things to do now than slam the Fire Dept.
5:29 PM
Pat was NOT slamming the fire dept., merely stating what he remembers as a member of the PFD. If anything your comment makes me think that there really is a problem within the department with people understanding each other and making the department the best it can be. Come on guys and show some civility toward each other. It sounds like Pat's statement is true?
Lois, where is our fire cheif, if he's out of the state or something on vaction I understand why he has not been there, if he has not been out of the area then I think it's time to replace him and at the very least we don't need him in charge of our ambulance service. joe witczak
Joe,
I believe fire cheifs have families and lives outside of work...and the fire department. You are not going to make 100% of all calls, nor does the cheif for the department i work for. Everyones emotions are high after an incident like this...I dont think your comment was appropriate.
Anonymous, if you read my post I said I understood if he was on vacation no problem, if I stand by my statement. I signed my post I don't see a signature on yours. joe witczak
Your comments are out of line Joe. if Chief King happened to be out of town when that call came in I'm sure nobody feels worse about that then the chief himself. City officials do have the right to leave the city limits. And, when they do they sure as hell don't need anybody trying to exploit a community tragedy for political or personal purposes. I know who was in charge when this call came in and I know who is in charge right now. We have an entire department to support and thank for this effort. This is no time to criticize.
Steve, I said no problem if he was away, everyone needs and should get time away, I guess you can't read either Steve. I didn't mean it to sound like I was exploiting the situation. I guess I just don't think that way, I'm sure you would have never done that since you thought of it and brought it up Steve. joe witczak
Joe
Why be so critical of jeff king? The fire dept did a great job, no argument about that. That all starts from being prepared from the top down...duncan also did a great job. If jeff was running the department so poorly I think it would have showed. Maybe you should have waited to post your comment until you heard the whole story of why he was not there....
6:56 What is the whole story?
I really think you misunderstood Joe's comment. Go back and re-read it please. It's missing some punctuation but he stated it was fine if he was out of the area. But if he was in town he should have been there.......
Irregardless of who was in charge, I offer my gratitude for all the fire fighters who responded & continue to respond to this fire. I work in that building, I was there only moments after the call came in. They managed to save the entire north building, sparing many jobs, mine included. Several years ago, my neighbor burned in the wee hours of the morning. My home suffered nothing, not even smoke damage, even though the structures were only about 15' apart. I commend these brave & talented men & women & offer a HUGE thank you, for today's tragedy & the tragedy of the past. We are blessed to have them on "our side".
9:59 PM
Thank you for your well said comment, I agree with you whole heartedly. Whoever was in charge is not important and what was important was that Jim Duncan, Jeff King and LaSalle Fire Chief Bacidore all did a commendable job plus anyone from anywhere else who assisted the Peru fire fighters. And of course we thank all of the firemen who had to fight this fire with some of the worst weather possible.
A job well done.
To Joe - If I misunderstood your comment I apologize for that. Maybe we're all a bit edgy at the moment.
There are some who seem to think they can exploit the fact that Chief King happened to be out of town on vacation when the call came in as if that were an indication of poor leadership. Not so, my understanding is Chief King returned home asap and immediately took charge of the situation.
Steve, yes he did and it was very very commendable that he flew back from vacation asap like he did. Cudos to him and everyone involved in this huge operation. we are very lucky to have the great emergency services that we enjoy here in Peru. joe witczak
Steve: I think the problem in this area (and probably many places) is the lack of communication between those who know the answers (have an in) and those who are just seeking the answers because they are concerned.
Fire chief jeff king vacations numerous times per year every
Year. Regarding any fire and statistically a higher number of fires on new years eve chief kings chic to be out of town knowing the possibility of his own departments manpower could be lower than usual due to celebrating new years. I hope all of chiefs kings vacations are documented ! Our asst. Fire chief Duncan covers for chief king all the time. I wish I could get to vacation 30 plus days or more a year and get a check. Good job asst. Chief Duncan and and all responding department of police and fire for keeping the beginnings of the fire under control. God bless everyone who assisted!
To all firefighters and police departments , thank you!!!!for your time and energies during this historical fire and for your service you provided. I believe this fire is enlightening the public into other issues regarding perus fire department. How about peru's mayor , the two alderman who are in charge of fire safety do a internal investigation (asking honest firemen) as to the fire chief kings MIA's throughout the time since he has been chief of the fire department. Possibly, if truth be known maybe we as taxpayers should be paying that position a lesser salary due to his unavailability throughout the year. Not only chief king paid salary for fire chief, he also gets paid for each call he attends, and he is being paid approximately $1,800 a year to be if a safety committee, and let's not forget we taxpayer pay for a response vehicle that he drives around town in . What a package it is!! Let's give Asst. Fire chief Duncan a raise. He so deserves.
Time and patience of the taxpayers will tell all . Truth in time will prevail. Fires of this magnitude take time. Job well done by ALL departments who assisted in the westclock fire. And we citizens of all communities thank you.
Im wondering who is in charge of and how often it's done and documented regarding the businesses fire equipment, Ex: up to date and tagged that a businesses extinguishers are in compliance. I do know that when Gary Eccles was fire chief he was personally going into Peru businesses and checking. Hey, Peru business owners, has anyone from the city checked yours?????? If so, did u sign anything saying you were inspected? Or is just understood that you were? Safety is our concern here. I would like these questions answered and see actual documentation if available, which should be disclosed to the taxpayers. Thank you. Maybe Rodney Perez could find out and reply sometime in the future after things with westclock are under control. Thanks again.
It seems that issues are starting to come out. If it's true that our fire chief is not available on a continuous basic due to numerous vacation per year and still being paid a yearly salary by peru's taxpayers, then maybe the city needs to re-evaluate it's policies. Possibly this was a bad judgement call on fire chief jeff king. New Years Eve would definitely not be my choice to be out of town if I were in his position!! I would need the most firefighters be at
ANY fire call that may come in, especially truthfully knowing some of my guys wouldn't be at the fire call due to the holiday. Therefore, I would make the right decision to be available as chief, just in case!!! ? How long has asst chief Duncan been on the peru's fire dept? How long as asst. Fire chief? Wasn't he asst. Fire chief Duncan the asst. Fire chief when Gary Eccles was fire chief for many years?? Good job Duncan and to all departments of the police and fire communities who contained this fire in it's beginning stages. And, let's not forget LaSalle's fire Chief Andy Bacidore and his crew. We are all hoping for a full recovery of your firefighter Steve Smith.
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