The Daily Herald has a series of recent articles which reference the Fox River & Countryside Fire Rescue District.
The new Fox River Countryside Fire/Rescue District has a new chief to guide its evolution. It’s a task he’s already familiar with.
District officials Tuesday announced Greg Benson as the first fire chief of the district. Benson is already associated with the district as trustees hired him last month to be the technical adviser for the selection of fire equipment and seeking bids for manpower and emergency services with private companies. That process eventually led to the selection of Wheaton-based American Emergency Services as the new fire and ambulance provider. Under the deal, Benson will be an employee of AES, not the district.
The complete article can be found HERE.
The Daily Herald has an editorial about the emergence of the new fire department HERE entitled
Fire district heads down risky path
Leaders of the Fox River & Countryside Fire/Rescue District didn’t feel they could afford to pay the rate the City of St. Charles charges to provide the district with fire service, so they decided to go it alone. They treated this too much like a simple business decision, and the result could be disastrous.
Until now, the rural district — which serves Campton and Wayne townships and portions of Wayne and Campton Hills — has existed only on paper. It has had no equipment or personnel. Merely a board and a tax levy, with which it paid the City of St. Charles for fire service and Tri-City Ambulance for rescue.
… the district fire board wants to control its own destiny by building two stations, hiring a chief, buying trucks and ambulances and contracting with a company to provide both fire and ambulance service. At the outset, at least, the deal would cost the fire district slightly less than what St. Charles wanted.
Another recent article quotes Kane County Board Chairman Karen McConnaughay as saying that the fire district board members should be elected instead of appointed.
McConnaughay says fire board should be elected, not appointed
Kane County Board Chairman Karen McConnaughay suggested Wednesday that St. Charles Mayor Don DeWitte should look in the mirror when trying to figure out how the city lost the fire and ambulance service contract for the Fox River Countryside Fire/Rescue District.
In the aftermath of fire district trustees voting to create a new fire department and drop the city, DeWitte said McConnaughay is responsible for the department’s success or failure. McConnaughay appoints four of the five trustees.
But on Wednesday McConnaughay said DeWitte is the guy responsible for district President Jim Gaffney’s appointment.
The Kane County Chronicle has an article HERE about the new chief.
Fox River and Countryside district names Wayne resident as chief
Benson has served as the district’s technical adviser since January. Previously, he worked for fire departments in St. Charles, Aurora, Batavia and Elgin, where he served as battalion chief, according to a news release.
Benson will be employed by the district’s service provider, American Emergency Services.
AES, along with input from district trustees and the Citizen Advisory Committee, selected Benson from more than 50 applicants and five finalists, AES President Gary Jensen said.
