Excerpts from nbcchicago.com:
Residents in Glenview will rally this Saturday in an attempt to save a Fire Station 13, saying that the move would put their safety at risk. Village officials plan to close the station on April 1, rerouting resources from the station to four other stations within the community.
The local firefighters’ union has reservations about the plan, citing a potential impact on public safety, and residents say that outside consultants have also come out in opposition to the plan, stoking worries that the closure could put their safety at risk.
Village officials, who voted unanimously to close the station, say they understand the concerns of the public, but say that the closure will help to better allocate resources around the village. There are plans to increase the number of ambulances available in the community, but it’s the closure of the station that is generating more attention.
From Glenview Prof. Firefighters Assoc. IAFF Local 4186:
Ain’t No POWER Like The POWER of the PEOPLE,
cause the POWER of the PEOPLE Don’t Stop!!!We have learned that a resident-organized rally in support of saving Fire Station 13 is scheduled for Saturday. We are happy to share the details below for all who may be interested.
We feel that this type and level of community based action to save Fire Station 13 is what the Village Board, Village leadership and Trustee candidates need to pay attention to.
The residents want their voices to be heard and their fire station to be kept open. We support our residents in their mission to keep Fire Station 13 open!
#1 by Tom W on March 10, 2021 - 10:31 PM
Bill,
Thank you for your reply. I am very familiar with the GFD. I became less familiar with their operations after Chief Ensign left, that is when most of their ridiculousness began. Don’t know if this was because of the new Fire Chief or what? I think the Village Manager played a role in all of this as well. All I can say is, you provide a lot of insight into the operations of the Fire Departments in the Chicagoland area, in a very well presented and unbiased way! I truly thank you for your ability to share this information and your wealth of knowledge!
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#2 by Bill Post on March 8, 2021 - 3:31 AM
Tom W, I have been following this problem with Glenview Stations 13 and 6 since it began. It was years in the making and began under a previous administration.
You may or may not know that Glenview Station 6, a large station, had been located in downtown Glenview at 1815 Glenview Road for many years. It was not more than a block east of Harlem Avenue and the railroad tracks. Stations 13 and 14 were opened around 2004 when Glenview developed the Glen on the former site of the Glenview Naval Air Station after it was deactivated. The area became a major commercial and residential development with a large park, recreation center, and a huge manmade lagoon with hiking and biking trails. Station 14 was built just a few blocks north of the Glen shopping district adjacent to the Northeastern Illinois Public Safety Training Academy (NIPSTA), which serves many area fire and police departments. Station 13 was built at the same time for the east side of Glenview.
Several years later, the Village of Glenview decided to sell the land under Station 6 to a developer for a large building with condominiums and stores that would bring new revenue to the village. The town council approved the sale of the land and the roomy fire station had to be relocated.
Village officials decided to build the new Station 6 on the former property of the Glenview Police Department. A problem with that was the new location was closer to Station 13, with a distance between the two of just over a mile.
Now you may or may not know that the Insurance Service Organization (ISO) requires that an engine company be no further than 1.5 miles from any built upon area within it’s district. So building the new station less than a 1.5 miles from Station 13 was already making Station 13 vulnerable to possible closure. Wayne Globerger, the fire chief at the time, acknowledged that the village may decide they could merge Engine 13 into Engine 6’s new house, however he was about to retire. He should be given credit for greatly expanding the Glenview Fire Department and getting Stations 13 and 14 built during his tenure.
If you know how the Village of Glenview is laid out then it would have made more sense to have built the new Station 6 about a half mile to 3/4s of a mile south of Glenview Road on Waukegan Road near Central or the railroad viaduct. From a fire and EMS coverage point of view, it would have been wiser. The village wanted to save money though by using land they already owned despite the fact that they’d just signed a lucrative deal with a developer who bought the former Station 6 site.
This is something that I was able to see happening and so was the former fire chief.
There are two sets of standards that the village can go by in terms of fire and EMS protection. They can follow ISO standards that I listed above, or they can follow the National Fire Protection Association Standard 1710 which requires that the nearest engine be no more than a four minute drive from from any point in its district 90% of the time.
You are correct that it shouldn’t have anything to do with how many fires or EMS runs. It is like having an insurance policy. You need to have both fire and EMS help arrive within a timely manner which should be not more than a three to four minute drive to any point in district from quarters.
Here are a few relevant links to the story when they were building Station 6.
http://chicagoareafire.com/blog/2014/07/new-fire-station-in-glenview-more/
http://chicagoareafire.com/blog/2014/05/new-fire-station-in-glenview/
http://chicagoareafire.com/blog/2013/11/glenview-to-go-ahead-with-plans-for-new-fire-station/
#3 by MABAS 21 on March 5, 2021 - 9:44 AM
Prior to the talks of closing Station 13, was there any bad blood between the Union and the village administration? I am trying to comprehend the motives behind this stupidity since the village is not undergoing any major financial duress. Sometimes these are retaliatory actions because of major arbitrary grievances or collective bargaining contract negotiations falling out of good faith. Although I am not a proponent for jump companies, like I have mentioned before, as a last ditch effort to keep Station 13 open would the Union agree to running a jump company to add an additional ambulance for a multiple call situations?
#4 by Tom W on March 4, 2021 - 10:55 PM
David G.
You ask some good questions, but they are irrelevant to the topic at hand. This is not about responding to “WORKING” fires, but rather all emergency calls in east Glenview or Engine 13’s still district. Don’t know if you realize it or not, but Engine 13 is an ALS (Advanced Life Support) engine also. The engine company can do all the necessary functions of an ALS ambulance minus the ability to transport, along with all the other fire suppression capabilities. What is your point or motive for these questions?
#5 by David G on March 4, 2021 - 6:23 PM
I’m curious as to how many first due WORKING fires Glenview Engine 13 has had in the past 5 years…how many workers does Glenview get annually? Anyone know? Seems like quite an affluent community.
#6 by Max O on March 3, 2021 - 5:24 PM
I hope the Union, can help get this decision reversed. It’s a long way for Wilmette station 27, Northfield station 29, Glenview station 6 or 14 to respond. Especially give how congested Lake Avenue can get.
#7 by Local 4186 on March 3, 2021 - 2:48 PM
Midwest911,
Please contact us @ http://www.glenviewfirefighters.org.
We appreciate everyone’s support!!
Glenview Firefighters Local #4186
#8 by Michael m on March 3, 2021 - 10:13 AM
I am sure all they see is the part of the report that says Engine 13 actually is in use for 42 minutes every 24 hours. I am sure they are looking at the statistics and think that it is ok to move resources.
I hope Des Plaines is having second thoughts about the decision to take Tower 63 out of service.
What really bad is this has nothing to do with village finances. It all has to do with statistics.
I look at Wood Dale as a example of a suburb that is truly cash strapped.
Forget statistics, if your town is well off, why not provide the maximum benefits to your residents.
Wasn’t stations 13 and 14 opened around the same time in the early 2000’s? Is station 13 first due in a older or newer section of town?
It’s only going to be a matter of time before something happens and people are going to start second guessing that decision.
#9 by Tom W on March 2, 2021 - 10:51 PM
I am constantly trying to figure out how this happened, and how this has gotten to the point of where it is today?! Who is running the Village of Glenview and the Fire Department??? Some very poor decisions by the Board and questionable direction given by the Village Manager and Fire Chief. To be honest, I don’t know any Chief in the area that would give this plan the ok. How can one say that closing a fire station and reallocating resources further away from the current Station 13 will not effect response times? Absolutely and unequivocally a lie, or someone was given tainted information. That’s what happens when you have people with 0 knowledge of public safety sitting on these Boards. The right questions don’t get asked! The Glenview Village Board, Village Manager and Fire Chief should be ashamed of themselves! It’s the blind leading the blind here, and when something bad happens, they will all point fingers at one another and plead their ignorance!
#10 by Midwest911 on March 2, 2021 - 7:37 PM
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