Excerpts from the ChicagoTribune.com:
The South Elgin and Countryside Fire Protection District is joining other area fire departments, dropping one if its four ambulances in favor of better protection for its residents, officials said.
Since May 4, the South Elgin fire department has been working with just three of its four ambulances to see if the idea worked for the fire department, explained Fire Chief Bill Sohn. Instead, one of the department’s engines was outfitted with the same life saving equipment as an ambulance. The end result, officials said, is better coverage for residents.
Cap. Mike Rothecker explained how having three ambulances and a fire engine with much of the same equipment actually provides better coverage.
Each of South Elgin’s two fire stations — one on McDonald Road and one in downtown South Elgin — has five firefighter/paramedics on duty at any time. Two of those are assigned to the ambulance, and three to an engine. If the ambulance is out on a call, those firefighters assigned to the engine would then take out the second ambulance. The same thing could be happening at both stations — leaving no one in the station for other calls.
Under the new plan, if an ambulance is out of the building and another ambulance call comes in, one of the other station’s ambulances will respond to the call. If there are enough calls coming in at one time, South Elgin would have three ambulances in the field and a fire engine with the same capabilities. However, patients are not transported to hospitals in the engine.
Mutual aid and automatic aid agreements with Elgin, Bartlett, Fox Valley and Tri-Cities bring ambulances into South Elgin if their own personnel are busy.
About 68 percent of their calls for service comes from ambulance calls — an amount that is fairly common in the modern fire service.
thanks Dan
