NEWS RELEASE

Village of Glenview Board Approves Better Alignment of Emergency Response Services with Community Demand – Station #13 resources will be realigned to meet community safety needs

February 2, 2021 – The Village of Glenview Board of Trustees unanimously directed village staff to start the process of realigning existing resources from Fire Station #13 at 831 East Lake Avenue, to the four other village fire stations. The decision came following an extensive review process beginning in 2019 during which board members and a working group composed of firefighters, lieutenants, battalion chiefs, department leadership, and village management considered seven options for further alignment of services with community demand following a comprehensive, data- driven study and subsequent report analyzing fire department utilization.

Board members said the action to reallocate Station #13 resources, based on safety, fiduciary responsibility, and utilization data, provides for more efficiency while continuing to safely serve the community. As part of this plan, the number of fire and EMS personnel employed will remain unchanged.

A detailed study delivered by public safety consultants at a September 15, 2020 board meeting that was open to the public (the recording of which is available online), found that since 2018, medical calls continue to make up the majority of community demand. The report led to the development of several recommendations for consideration to better align resources to meet this need. Due to the pandemic, Fire Station #13 resources were temporarily reallocated to other stations for 15 weeks in 2020 and for another four weeks in 2021, and public safety was not adversely affected.

After considering several options evaluated by the working group, the board gave the village manager and fire department leaders the authority to make changes to realign emergency resources. The anticipated changes may or may not be subject to certain collective bargaining obligations, which, if applicable, will be addressed at the appropriate time.

The board also recommended that the fire department continue pursuing long-term collaborations with surrounding fire departments. The Glenview Fire Department has automatic aid agreements in place and will explore opportunities for additional partnerships.

thanks Keith