The legacy of a 40-year-old tragic fire

It's a reminder of a simpler time in the suburbs. A time when "five and dime" stores proliferated. A time when fighting fires in town meant rousing volunteers at home, out of bed, away from their families and their "real jobs." A time when firefighting equipment took care of...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inDaily herald (Arlington Heights, Ill. : Arlington Heights ed.)
Format Newspaper Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Arlington Heights, Ill Daily Herald 26.02.2013
Subjects
Andersen, Scott
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:It's a reminder of a simpler time in the suburbs. A time when "five and dime" stores proliferated. A time when fighting fires in town meant rousing volunteers at home, out of bed, away from their families and their "real jobs." A time when firefighting equipment took care of the basics. Longtime Palatine residents surely remember that day. As Daily Herald staff writer Kimberly Pohl detailed in a story Friday, volunteer firefighters Warren "Auggie" Ahlgrim, 32, Richard Freeman, 25, and John Wilson, 40, died in the store owned by Wilson. Their air packs emptied as they went to the basement to seek the cause of the early-morning fire, unaware of the carbon monoxide danger that lurked there. "One name on this dry erase board is one too many," [Scott Andersen] said. "This is what we do. This is our chosen profession. This is the tradition of a firefighter."