Posts Tagged Clarendon Hills FD new ladder truck confusion

Clarendon Hills Fire Department news (more)

Excerpts from patch.com:

The Clarendon Hills village manager expressed frustration Monday with members of the fire department in the continuing controversy over whether the village should buy a new ladder truck. For months, he has looked at the possibility of sharing a ladder truck with another town, mostly likely Hinsdale. As a result, he said, department employees, family members, and other interested residents have conducted a public relations campaign to convince the village board to end the debate and buy a new ladder truck. Meanwhile, the fire chief said he is not allowed to talk to media about the issue.

The expected price of a new truck has soared to $1.4 million, from $1 million and the current one is nearing the end of its useful life.

In a memo, the village manager listed seven communities with populations similar to the combined population of Hinsdale and Clarendon Hills. Each of them have one ladder truck, unlike the two in Hinsdale and Clarendon Hills. The other towns are Batavia, Glen Ellyn, Melrose Park, Oak Forest, Westmont, Wilmette, and Elmwood Park, plus there are 16 towns about the size of Clarendon Hills that a ladder truck including Calumet Park, Hillside, Princeton, River Forest, Riverside, and West Dundee.

La Grange, which is nearly double the size of Clarendon Hills, has been without a ladder truck for more than a decade. Last month, La Grange fought a fire in a three-story house with Hinsdale and Westmont providing ladder trucks. Usually, La Grange relies on the Pleasantview Fire Protection District for a ladder truck, but they weren’t available.

Last fall, Clarendon Hills officials met with La Grange’s fire chief to discuss operations, and learned that La Grange has seen no notable negative results being without a ladder truck and that they have an informal relationship with neighboring departments to provide support if needed. 

For this year’s budget, the village has earmarked $30,000 for a consultant to look at the issue of fire department vehicles.

Proponents of a new ladder truck say the village’s insurance rating would likely drop without one in town, increasing residents’ insurance premiums. At a Public Safety Committee meeting in November, the chief was concerned about the impact on the department’s staffing model if it were provided with inferior equipment.

A former village trustee in favor of a new ladder truck suggested the village eliminate the assistant village manager’s position and the $50,000-a-year contract with the local chamber of commerce.

Last fall, the Hinsdale village president their village board that the two towns have an intergovernmental agreement that calls for sharing fire personnel, equipment, and vehicles. He wondered whether Clarendon Hills needed to spend so much money on a ladder truck when Hinsdale had one.

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Clarendon Hills Fire Department news (more)

Excerpts from Fox32chicago.com:

Leaders in Clarendon Hills are looking to share a fire department ladder truck with another community, saving a big chunk of change. 

One village official  says that public safety comes first, but if they can get by with sharing a ladder truck with a neighboring community, then why not save that money?

Some community members are upset at the thought that the Clarendon Hills Fire Department wouldn’t have its own ladder truck, fearing response times would be longer. They have organized, and there is a Change.org petition as well as yard signs being put up.

The issue at hand is the current ladder truck is getting old and needs to be replaced. The cost is well over a million dollars. The village manager says they are still researching their options to replace it or rely on another department when they need the ladder truck.

There is a village board meeting Monday night. The ladder is not on the agenda, but they are expecting some public comment. The village manager says they have a lot more to research before they make a decision.

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Clarendon Hills Fire Department news

From The Clarendon Courier:

Clarendon Hills fire truck dispute

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