Archive for February 2nd, 2017

Fox River and Countryside Fire Rescue District news (more)

Excerpts from the DailyHerald.com:

Fox River & Countryside Fire/Rescue District officials on Monday continued preparations for an April tax increase referendum even while keeping one eye on the money vacuum a pending nearby drug treatment facility may pose. A financial presentation Monday night helped quantify the district’s push for more tax dollars.

At first glance, the district has about $1.4 million in reserves and $2.43 million coming in every year in property taxes. Add another $212,000 of ambulance fees with four months left in the district’s budget year, and everything seems to be on track. But the district gets most of its cash up front with the payment of property tax bills. The next four months will be almost a straight cash drain.

Vehicle maintenance costs have already surpassed this year’s budget. And that doesn’t factor in one of the district’s primary fire trucks going out of commission. The truck is still under warranty, barely, but the absent equipment highlights the fact that there isn’t any long-term financial plan to replace the truck or any of the other major apparatus in the department.

Fire Chief John Nixon and some of the district’s trustees plan to demonstrate the exact financial position of the district at a public information forum on the April referendum scheduled for 6:30 p.m., March 6, at the fire district station on Carl Lee Road.

Before that, on Feb. 9, fire district officials will hear the verdict of Kane County’s zoning board of appeals on the push to open a drug-treatment center just outside of Campton Hills. Fire district officials believe the facility will add a significant amount of new ambulance calls onto a staff that’s already been stretched to cut costs by shifting to some part-timers.

Ken Shepro, the fire district’s attorney, said he’s concerned that the zoning board would not accept information about how often the district believes calls to the drug treatment facility will leave half of residents with much longer response times.

“How many calls will we get? Well, we don’t know because every time we’d try to say during the hearing that (the drug treatment facility) was similar to something else they would say that wasn’t like what they were planning to do. We never really found out what they do plan on being like.”

Shepro said the zoning board also never got an answer as to what types of emergency calls the drug treatment facility will generate. Representatives of the facility testified there would be no calls to the facility that wouldn’t be typical for any other customer of the fire district.

The fire district faces a possible shake-up in representation as all three trustee seats on the April ballot are contested.

thanks Dan

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Buffalo Grove FD orders new apparatus (more)

From the Fire Service, Inc. Facebook page:

Congratulations to Buffalo Grove Fire Department. They purchased two new apparatus. The first is a 2016 HP78SS E-One aerial. The second is a 2016 E-One pumper. We thank you for your business and look forward to what the new year brings!

Buffalo Grove FD Quint 27 E-ONE Cyclone II HP78SS

Fire Service, Inc. photo

Buffalo Grove FD Engine 26 E-ONE Cyclone II

Fire Service, Inc. photo

E-ONE Cyclone II fire engine and quint

Fire Service, Inc. photo

Buffalo Grove FD Quint 27 E-ONE Cyclone II HP78SS

Fire Service, Inc. photo

Buffalo Grove FD Engine 26 E-ONE Cyclone II

Fire Service, Inc. photo

Buffalo Grove FD fire trucks

Fire Service, Inc. photo

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New ARFF for West Chicago FPD

This from John Tulipano:

New crash rig at DuPage Airport. West Chicago FPD has placed into Rescue 9 a 2017 Rosenbauer Panter 4×4 1850-GPM pump with a 1,500-gallon water tank, 200-gallon foam tank, and 500 pounds of purple K. Production #104238

West Chicago FPD Rescue 9 ARFF

West Chicago FPD Rescue 9 – 2017 Rosenbauer Panter 4×4 1850/1500W/ 200F/500#PK. SO#104238. John Tulipano photo

Rosenbauer ARFF trucks at the DuPage Airport

John Tulipano photo

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LaGrange Park Fire Department

This from Chris Wagner:

LaGrange Park Fire Department indicates board approval for new quint  via their Facebook page.

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