Excerpts from the DailyHerald.com:
Mount Prospect’s firefighters union is speaking out about the relocation of an engine from its headquarters station at 111 Rand Road to the department’s newest station at 1415 E. Algonquin Road, which was inherited when the Elk Grove Rural Fire Protection District disbanded.
The engine had been used as the primary vehicle for fire suppression. That function has now been assigned to a tower ladder, which will have one additional firefighter/paramedic.
In 2016, the former fire chief pushed to house the engine at headquarters, then located on Northwest Highway. Now that issue has been revived on social media by Mount Prospect Firefighters International Association of Firefighters Local 4119.
The union noted that the engine is equipped for direct fire suppression, carrying over 700 gallons of water and multiple hose lines, which allows firefighters to start fighting fires immediately or during challenging wintry weather conditions. The tower carries less than 300 gallons of water and is primarily a unit put to use in rescue and aerial operations.
The union feels that the move will affect the response north of the railroad tracks.
Mount Prospect fire officials defended the move.
Fire Chief John Dolan said the engine, although not housed at headquarters, is still “manned, staffed and available to serve the entire community. Every fire gets all our apparatus, regardless where it is.”
The chief pointed out that at least 75% of calls are for emergency medical services, and that each of the four fire stations has an ambulance.
“We have four ambulances full time,” Deputy Chief Tom Wang said. “We’re one of only three towns in this area that have four full-time ambulances.”
thanks Rob
#1 by Chuck on July 22, 2024 - 2:50 PM
If they want to collect an impact fee they should look right across the intersection at Algonquin and Linneman and make sure they hit the developer of the data center being built and start there.
#2 by CNS on July 20, 2024 - 1:50 PM
They could staff it with POC members.
#3 by EFD on July 20, 2024 - 12:28 PM
Lots of good points brought up here. I disagree with one point of MABAS 21, plenty of relevance if other towns are doing it, that means it works. Here in Elgin, we have 7 stations and we have run 3 trucks and 4 engines. Has our truck shown up first? Yes, and it puts the fire out. My good friend in Arlington Heights, next door to Mount Prospect, I think they run the same, 3 engines and a truck. I believe their town is bigger and busier. Why can us and them do it but Mount Prospect not? If Mount Prospect’s truck was dry, this is a done deal, but it looks like it has water. Their firemen need to be trained on making sure they get a quick water supply, which I would guess isn’t a problem. You are correct though, if they are relying on mutual aid, that is a bad idea. Poor argument with shortening the vehicle’s lifespan, sadly, vehicles are always cheaper than firemen are.
I would hope they planned for this, sounds like it with them hiring many people. I would need to know some of their numbers though, which this article lacks. Somewhere between this article and the Chief Dolan comments does the truth lie.
#4 by MABAS 21 on July 20, 2024 - 11:11 AM
It is irrelevant if the surrounding departments run a truck or tower ladder first due. As the fire service continues to learn, you don’t want to beat the sh*t out of a now $2 mil piece of fire apparatus chasing ambulances. It shortens the vehicle’s lifespan and causes extreme maintenance woes $$$$. Also you don’t want to be part of a failed experiment of running a jump company mini pumper in place of a truck company like Tri-State found out.
You have to keep in mind, Tower 13 is Citywide for AFAs and reported structure fires. It is responsible for truck company functions such as forcible entry, search and rescue, providing ladder access, overhaul, and ventilation. A truck company’s overall responsibility is not fire suppression; ie. pulling a hoseline and applying water to fire.
Prior to the acquisition of EGTP, the members fought hard to get Engine 13 placed back in service. This was in part because of the anticipated development in the downtown, thus increasing the population and forecasted increased call volume.
With the relocation of Engine 13 to the former EGTP Station 11, Mt. Prospect essentially lost a suppression company, which effects coverage north of the tracks. As others have commented, a fire department cannot wholly depend on automatic aid when their own call volume is also skyrocketing.
So I ask, why should the hard working taxpaying residents of Mt. Prospect have to be short changed with the loss of Engine 13 in their neighborhood? Why should the entrepreneurs that opened businesses in Mt. Prospect be short changed with the services that they expect?
Hopefully the FD admin and the Village formulate a plan to bring back a fully staffed engine company at Station 13. With the current arrangement, a 4tth engine company is warranted and needs to be implemented.
Maybe a temporary solution is establishing an impact fee to the township areas that were annexed in to Mt. Prospect. Dissolving the EGRFPD paper district was a mistake because it was a taxing body that would collect revenue and be turned overto Mt. Prospect to cover some of the operating expenses and staffing of Station 11.
#5 by Steve on July 19, 2024 - 12:09 PM
Talking to one of their own, they hired 6 last year and put a 4th ambulance in service full-time. They are going to hire 3 more this year but are supplementing with overtime until then. That’ll be 9 additional new hires in less than 2 years. The comment by their Deputy Chief is telling, 4 ambulance for that Department is pretty posh. Also, many towns in the area run a truck first due, so I don’t see what the big deal is. The guy I talked to said they want another engine so that’s 9 more people but he admits they really aren’t picking up that many more calls, admin said around 400 additional calls for the year. He admitted they’re well-staffed compared to everyone in the area, so believe what you will.
#6 by Andy on July 19, 2024 - 11:30 AM
They had started staffing the 4th ambulance prior to Township closing up shop (partly because EGT was having trouble staffing their own ambulance). I know some of it was done with OT when it started, but I’m not sure if they had hired additional since then. They did increase the minimum staffing by one person to put three on the tower all the time. I believe prior to the EGT/E13 movements, the minimum staffing for TWR13 was only 2. So no real new additional staffing, just a shuffling of what they had previously had.
#7 by Jim on July 18, 2024 - 9:38 PM
Andy,
According to Local 4119’s Facebook page, they are now staffing an extra ambulance and an extra person on the tower ladder. Is this through overtime or did they have staffing to complete this?
#8 by Andy on July 18, 2024 - 4:08 PM
This issue is they haven’t hired any additional personnel.
#9 by Cmk420 on July 18, 2024 - 11:58 AM
So, just an observation, and I am by no means an expert.
If they knew this was going to be an issue, then why did they not keep one of the former EGT engines as, possibly, a reserve piece & move one of their current reserve engines back to front-line service at Station 11? Or would that required additional personnel needing to be hired?