Excerpts from the Herald-News.com:

The proposed acquisition of a quint faced stiff opposition from Joliet firefighters, while the mayor said the city needs to do something about obscene amounts of overtime.  Firefighters at a city council workshop meeting Monday said putting a quint in downtown Station 1 would threaten public safety in the older section of the city.

The quint would allow the department to cut back on staff and save on overtime spending. It would replace an engine and a ladder truck at Station 1. Each requires a three-firefighter crew, so using a quint would cut back the number of firefighters at Station 1 by three. Firefighter said it would also reduce the number of firefighters that first arrive at the scene of a fire.

Fire Chief Joe Formhals said he did not consider the vehicle a threat to public safety but it might allow him to get some control of the overtime. “The purpose of the quint is to free up those three individuals so we would have them somewhere else,” Formhals said.

The mayor pointed to $300,000 spent on fire department overtime in December. The truck would cost $842,000.

Tags: Fire Chief Joe Formhals, Joliet FD discusses purchasing a quint, Joliet Fire Department