Streamwood Fire Chief Chris Clark « chicagoareafire.com

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New fire training campus

Sep 22

Posted by Admin in Fire Service News | Comments off

Hundreds of area residents turned out for the open house Wednesday afternoon at the Elgin Community College Center for Emergency Services in Burlington.

ECC President David Sam welcomed visitors to the open house and thanked the community for its support in passing the referendum question in 2009 that provided funding for the facility.

The 120-acre site includes two ponds which furnish water for fire trucks and three main building structures: the academic building, where classes are held in public safety and communications, emergency medical services, criminal justice and fire science; the apparatus building, which features two bays for training and houses a fleet of emergency vehicles including two engines, an ambulance and a ladder truck; and a three-story burn tower for training of firefighters in search and rescue, and train police in incident management.

Streamwood Fire Chief Chris Clark, who also works as an adjunct faculty member at the facility, said the training tower allows them to perform search and rescue training in a safe environment and was built with the flexibility to be used for many different types of training.

Inside the academic building, students will receive training in public safety communications for 911 operators; practice CPR and other lifesaving techniques; learn to operate a firetruck or police car on a simulated driving machine; and plan the tactical management of multiple departments in the incident command room, which includes a model city.

Tags: chicagoareafire.com, David Sam, Elgin Community College, Elgin Community College's new Public Safety Training Center, Elgin Community College Center for Emergency Services, new campus for training police and fire firefighters, new fire training campus, new public safety training academy opens in Burlington Illinois, public safety training campus to be built in Burlington IL, Streamwood Fire Chief Chris Clark

Streamwood receives SAFER Grant – reopens shuttered firehouse

Feb 25

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News | 3 Comments

The Daily Herald has an article about the Streamwood Fire Department reopening a fire station after being closed for four years.

Nearly four years after what some residents saw as the sudden closing of a Streamwood firehouse, officials have quietly reopened the station thanks to a grant that put more firefighters on the job. The Park Boulevard station began operating again this week. At least three firefighter-paramedics are now assigned there for each 24-hour shift.

Fire Chief Chris Clark said Friday he expects the reopening to reduce the time it takes for crews to respond to emergencies, especially along Lake Street where industrial developments have popped up on what was vacant land in recent years. Facilities like a 24-hour food processing plant have contributed to a rise in calls for service on the village’s south side, Clark said.

In December 2012, Streamwood won a $627,000 federal grant to hire three firefighters. Only one other department in the state received the funding administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The grant enabled the department to bring its ranks up to 50 firefighting personnel. With the grant, provided by the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response program, the department can now run three-person crews in all of the stations.

Streamwood weathered the economic slump by reducing the force to 47 firefighting positions through attrition. The department also eliminated the position of a full-time fire inspector who retired and reassigned those duties to other staffers. And in April 2010, the department shuttered the Park Boulevard station, sparking a protest and fears of an increase in response times. But officials defended the move, arguing that the closing improved operations.

Matt Dobson, who spearheaded the public outcry, wanted more of a heads-up to neighborhoods affected by the change. Village officials, though, say they reviewed the closing in a budget meeting. Dobson learned the station had reopened only when he drove by and saw the American flag flying outside the entrance. Up until Monday, the department used the station for training and storage of equipment.

Streamwood must keep the three firefighter-paramedics on the job for two years. With a rebounding local economy, the chief expects the department to retain them even longer.“We are very confident that we will be able to maintain those positions through our current revenue streams,” he said.

thanks Dan

Tags: area fire department receives FEMA grant, Federal Emergency Management Agency, fire departments get Homeland Security SAFER grant money, Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response, Streamwood Fire Chief Chris Clark, Streamwood Fire Department, Streamwood fire station