Archive for December 7th, 2011

Hoffman Estates to run with one less ambulance

The Hoffman Estates Fire Department is being hard hit with overtime costs due to manpower shortages and will take Ambulance 22 down when staffing it requires personnel to be hired back. The Daily Herald has an article which states that:

The village’s 2012 budget, which was also approved Monday, includes funding only for the 93 personnel currently on the department’s rooster. In 2008, the department was authorized to have 106 sworn personnel, but since then 13 have retired and not been replaced due to the recession.

Because six of the firefighters are on medical leave or military deployment, overtime costs have increased in the last six months to a point where something needed to be done, officials said. As firefighters come back to work, the ambulance may be put back in service on select days.

The entire article can be found HERE.

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Bolingbrook has been added to the site

Bolingbrook Fire Department patch

The Bolingbrook Fire Department in MABAS Division 16, has been added to the site. Bolingbrook runs out of five stations. Each station has a suppression company and all but Station 5 run a medic unit. The suppression company at Station 1 is a jump company utilizing either the engine or the truck depending on the nature of the dispatch. As mentioned previously, a new engine is on order for Station 5, and a new medic unit will be in service before the year ends.

Bolingbrook Fire Department Engine 2 HME Ferrara Intruder 2

One of three units by Ferrara in Bolingbrook. Larry Shapiro photo

The suppression apparatus are a mixture of Precision Fire Apparatus (out of Camdenton, MO), Ferrara, Grumman, and Seagrave. Medic units were build by Road Rescue, Wheeled Coach, Life Line, and Osage.

Bolingbrook Fire Department Engine 5 Precision Fire Apparatus

Engine 5 has one of two commercial engines in Bolingbrook, both of which were built by Precision Fire Apparatus. Larry Shapiro photo

Missing from the images posted on the site are a 1992 Seagrave reserve engine at Station 4, and two large trailers. One at Station 4 carries a Gator AWD unit, and one at Station 5 houses the technical rescue equipment.

Bolingbrook Fire Department Medic Unit 1

This ambulance has different striping than the other units in Bolingbrook because they purchased it from Air Angels. Larry Shapiro photo

The medic unit running out of Station 1 was formerly owned by Air Angels, Inc. which went out of business in February of 2009. Air Angels operated ground medical transport and helicopter transport. In 2008, an Air Angels helicopter crashed.

Bolingbrook Fire Station 3

Bolingbrook Station 3 is at 1111 W. Boughton Road. Larry Shapiro photo

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