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Archive for July 30th, 2015

Mount Prospect FD to prepare for active shooter incidents

Jul 30

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News | 2 Comments

The Mount Prospect Fire Department is contemplating purchasing equipment that will give paramedics the ability to respond more quickly to active shooting incidents.

Deputy Chief Brian Lambel told a joint meeting of the village board and the finance commission that he is requesting $20,000 for vests, armor and helmets.

“What we have done in the past is we haven’t gone in as long as the scene was hot or active. We would wait until the scene was cleared and then we would go in and treat the injured,” Lambel said at last week’s meeting on the village capital improvement plan.

Lambel said studies have shown that in some cases, people could have been saved if help arrived sooner. The plan is for firefighters in a rescue task force, under police protection, to go into areas considered warm rather than hot.

“Our medics could go in, start treating people that are brought to that area, under the protection of the police that would always be with them, and move on if they had to, to get other victims. And then what we can do is get the victims out, get them to triage and (they can) be treated quicker.”

When asked whether the firefighters would become more of a target, Lambel said that they would be going into an area that was deemed safe, but that everyone is a target in such incidents. There would be two police officers, one in the front and one in the rear, providing protection. Firefighters are currently training with the police department.

Lambel said with training, the department feels it can do this for its citizens.

thanks Dan

Tags: Deputy Chief Brian Lambel, fire department prepares for active shooter incidents, Mount Prospect FIre Department

Wauconda looks into outsourcing 9-1-1 call center (more)

Jul 30

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News | 6 Comments

Excerpts from the OakLawnLeaf.com:

A Lake County municipality is “rethinking” an idea to move forward with controversial plans to close the village’s 911 emergency communications center and to outsource the services to a county group in light of opposition from community members and the problems experienced in other outsourcing such as the Village of Oak Lawn’s decision to privatize the services.

Village of Wauconda Trustees voted last Tuesday to table the move to the county group known as CenCom stating that there were too many questions and that it was too soon to vote. Mayor Frank Bart, who was elected two years ago, has pledged to close the 911 center and outsource the services to CenCom, which dispatches for 11 police and fire departments in Lake County. Bart has claimed that the move would save the village $300,000 a year.

However, opponents have pointed to the Village of Oak Lawn’s decision to outsource the services previously provided by union dispatchers in favor of a private company. “That decision was a disaster and I would be lying if I said we weren’t aware of those problems,” said a high ranking Wauconda village official who asked not to be identified.

Oak Lawn’s Village Manager Larry Deetjen had argued that his village would save money without affecting public safety when he recommended the privatization in Oak Lawn. Since that time, the village has had four directors of the center and been victimized by complaints from firemen, police officers and the public because of mistakes.

Wauconda’s administrator is admitting that the dispatchers would lose their jobs but said they would receive preferential consideration for the new jobs. A similar promise by Deetjen resulted in only a handful of the dispatchers being hired by the private company. Of those hired, half resigned shortly thereafter in light of the way the operations were handled. One dispatcher wrote a letter to the board detailing problems and to Mayor Sandra Bury [who] dismissed the letter as anonymous but also dismissed the complaints after the dispatcher came forward. The village never investigated any of the claims, including the statement that dispatchers were told to destroy complaints that were being made by police officers and firefighters.

Several glaring mistakes have resulted in headlines that have been reportedly noticed even in Wauconda. Hundreds of complaints have been made by public safety officers regarding dispatchers failing to send the right information to the police officers and firemen.

911 records reviewed by the Oak Lawn Leaf, after a legal tug of war that included the Attorney General of Illinois ruling that a 911 video should be released, showed a 6 to 7 minute delay in sending any ambulances to the fatal car accident killing two Roman Catholic Nuns at 95th and Cicero.

To make matters worse, the promised savings in Oak Lawn have not added up as promised with the union representing the dispatchers suing the village and later accepting a cash settlement. When Oak Lawn trustees voted 4-2 to privatize the services, the board ignored the threat of legal action and pleas from several 911 emergency operators and the wife of a police officer.

Oak Lawn Trustee Robert Streit, who along with former Trustee Carol Quinlan were the only votes against the privatization, noted that the village residents depend on professional service from its firemen and police officers. He said the 9-1-1 operators were the people behind the scenes that make sure the ambulance that residents call gets to the right address in a timely manner and assures police officers that a back up squad is on its way during a robbery.

He said that he is happy to hear that the Wauconda trustees are taking a hard look at the issue rather than blindly following the village manager’s suggestion. He said that he wishes Oak Lawn was not seen as an example of a bad decision but perhaps the mistake can be avoided elsewhere.