There are several newsworthy items to note regarding the Evanston Fire Department.
- This week Evanston completed the layoffs involving the three firefighters with the shortest time on the job.
- Evanston is in the process of interviewing candidates for the position of Fire Chief. Apparently the field is currently at five finalists.
- Evanston has completed specifications for a new tractor-drawn aerial
- The new Pierce Arrow XT engine which is being funded by Northwestern University is in the final stages of production
#1 by Mike Harris on September 6, 2010 - 5:18 PM
Who is the manufacturer that is going to be building the tractor drawn aerial??? Also when the new ambo comes to town does that mean amb 23 will get either of the old amb 21 or 22????
#2 by Bill Post on September 6, 2010 - 2:36 PM
The Evanston Fire Department (for the time being) has put their Truck 23 back in service and consequently has relocated their other Truck company back to station 22 from station 21 where they were relocated in early August 2010.
The city of Evanston or (more accurately) their new city manager had decided to lay off 3 fire fighters which in effect forced their (acting fire chief) to take one of their 2 Truck companies out of service. Evanston normally was running with 26 men per shift. They were running with 5 Engines and 2 Truck companies with 3 men each per shift. They also ran with 2 full time ALS ambulances with 2 men each and a third ALS ambulance out of station 23 which was a “jump company” which meant that if Ambulances 21 and 22 were not available the 3 man crew off of Engine or Truck 23 would respond with Ambulance 23 thereby putting Truck or Engine 23 out of service. As part of city manager’s move of taking Truck 23 out of service due to the layoffs, Ambulance 23 was put in full time service but with Truck 23 back in service Ambulance 23 is back to being an “on call jump company”.
The city manager had finally backed downed when the FIrefighter’s Union had gone public with an information campaign as to how the lay offs were effecting Evanstons fire protection standards. The city manager had unfairly laid off the three men when the fire fighters union and the city had agreed to go to binding arbitration to resolve their differences. The city managers move was prejudicial because the lay offs were ordered before the arbitration was begun.