The Daily Herald has an article which talks about the Village of Barrington looking at the fire department for cost savings.

Though several village departments have experienced layoffs and staff reductions through attrition during the past few years, the fire department hasn’t been among them, Village Manager Jeff Lawler said.

Despite taking pride in a budget trustees already are describing as conservative, village officials have pledged to examine the fire department this year for even greater cost savings.

A familiar theme has popped up throughout the country is the reduced number of fires and the increase in EMS responses. Like many other city councils, there appears to be talk of placing more of the burden on mutual aid companies.

The quest for greater efficiency in costs and equipment deployment will rely heavily on the fact that the majority of fire department calls are medical, and that all structure fires in the region are fought using the mutual aid from several departments anyway, Lawler said.

The entire article can be found HERE.