Off-duty Algonquin-Lake in the Hills firefighters save man's life at gym
Kudos to five Algonquin-Lake in the Hills firefighters who saved a man's life earlier this month while they were off duty and working out at Lifetime Fitness.
The firefighters are: Battalion Chief John Greene, Captain John Knebl and firefighters Craig Allen, Dan Pressler and Scott Olsen.
A club member nearby had stopped breathing and went into cardiac arrest.
The group, along with off-duty firefighter Chris Riley of the Skokie Fire Department, administered CPR and used the club's automatic external defibrillator to get him breathing again - after two shocks, firefighters felt a pulse and the patent began breathing on his own.
The patient was treated and released from an area hospital and did not suffer any long-term cardiac damage.
"By using all the components of pre-hospital emergency medical care, this man's life was saved," Greene said in a statement.
In case you missed it: About 60 Algonquin residents had their say last week - on paper - when the village held its second public input session on its Randall Road Pedestrian Bridge Study, held at Jacobs High School.
This time, the vast majority of the public came from Steve Stukenberg's advanced, honors and advanced placement government class at the high school.
Students from the advanced class received extra credit for attending, while the kids from the other two classes did not, since attendance was required, Stukenberg said.
Right now, the plan, which has not yet secured any funding, involves building either a bridge, a tunnel or a push-button signals at five locations crossing Randall Road: County Line Road, Longmeadow Parkway, Harnish Drive, Bunker Hill Drive/Huntington Drive and a mid-block between Bunker Hill Drive and Harnish Drive.
The tunnels were the most expensive option, costing between $3.2 and $6 million while push-button signals cost the least, at $60,000 each.
Bridges were estimated to cost between $2.5 and $3 million.
Sophomore Sonia Modi, who is in the advanced placement government class, favors a tunnel at Bunker Hill Drive near the school, because it would keep her fellow students away from traffic, shelter them from weather and ultimately encourage kids to walk or bike to school.
A tunnel at that location would cost $3.2 million, officials said.
"It's costly but in the end, it has benefits," Modi said.
Village officials will use the input they got at the meeting to finalize the study, which they will present to the full board of trustees for approval later on this spring.
• Lenore Adkins covers Algonquin, Lake in the Hills, Pingree Grove and McHenry County College. To reach her, call (847) 608-2725 or send an e-mail to ladkins@dailyherald.com.