Excerpts from patch.com:
The Clarendon Hills village manager expressed frustration Monday with members of the fire department in the continuing controversy over whether the village should buy a new ladder truck. For months, he has looked at the possibility of sharing a ladder truck with another town, mostly likely Hinsdale. As a result, he said, department employees, family members, and other interested residents have conducted a public relations campaign to convince the village board to end the debate and buy a new ladder truck. Meanwhile, the fire chief said he is not allowed to talk to media about the issue.
The expected price of a new truck has soared to $1.4 million, from $1 million and the current one is nearing the end of its useful life.
In a memo, the village manager listed seven communities with populations similar to the combined population of Hinsdale and Clarendon Hills. Each of them have one ladder truck, unlike the two in Hinsdale and Clarendon Hills. The other towns are Batavia, Glen Ellyn, Melrose Park, Oak Forest, Westmont, Wilmette, and Elmwood Park, plus there are 16 towns about the size of Clarendon Hills that a ladder truck including Calumet Park, Hillside, Princeton, River Forest, Riverside, and West Dundee.
La Grange, which is nearly double the size of Clarendon Hills, has been without a ladder truck for more than a decade. Last month, La Grange fought a fire in a three-story house with Hinsdale and Westmont providing ladder trucks. Usually, La Grange relies on the Pleasantview Fire Protection District for a ladder truck, but they weren’t available.
Last fall, Clarendon Hills officials met with La Grange’s fire chief to discuss operations, and learned that La Grange has seen no notable negative results being without a ladder truck and that they have an informal relationship with neighboring departments to provide support if needed.
For this year’s budget, the village has earmarked $30,000 for a consultant to look at the issue of fire department vehicles.
Proponents of a new ladder truck say the village’s insurance rating would likely drop without one in town, increasing residents’ insurance premiums. At a Public Safety Committee meeting in November, the chief was concerned about the impact on the department’s staffing model if it were provided with inferior equipment.
A former village trustee in favor of a new ladder truck suggested the village eliminate the assistant village manager’s position and the $50,000-a-year contract with the local chamber of commerce.
Last fall, the Hinsdale village president their village board that the two towns have an intergovernmental agreement that calls for sharing fire personnel, equipment, and vehicles. He wondered whether Clarendon Hills needed to spend so much money on a ladder truck when Hinsdale had one.
thanks Scott
#1 by harry on January 12, 2022 - 6:01 PM
or sell the sqd keep the truck get it rehabbed and buy a sqd engine similar to oak brook and keep the 2002 engine as a reserve and get it rehabbed to
#2 by michael m on January 12, 2022 - 5:00 PM
It will be interesting to see how all this concludes. I am guessing they do not have very many actual structure fires. It is possible they could get away with not having a truck. They do have the squad which was new in 2017. At least they would have some truck equipment.
I can see the argument both ways. If it were up to me, replace the truck and sell the engine.
I would then have the Squad 86 go out with Ambulance 86, use the truck only for fire calls.
You never know there might be that 1 time, that 1 fire in which having the Truck will make all the difference.
#3 by Tim on January 12, 2022 - 3:02 PM
Jim Wilk, very well said. When this topic comes up the first thing that comes to mind is Mabas divison 24. I’ve brought this up here before.
Many single station departments with minimal manning and regular fire duty (throughout the division). Hazel Crest, Homewood and Flossmoor. All single station depts with ladder trucks, and trucks that are close. 1.8 miles to 2.6 miles apart. I know, the low viaduct over Dixie hwy is not high enough for fire apparatus. But it just seems like a waste of taxpayer money to have so many trucks that close to each other. That doesn’t even take into account the rest of the division, where there are a lot of trucks.
#4 by Jim Wilk on January 12, 2022 - 11:31 AM
Most suburban communities want to provide the most effective response to incidents in the most efficient way possible. The problem with most suburban communities is that they are too small to have the financial resources to do this on their own. So they are forced to look for alternatives to form the critical mass for their response models. This has been MABAS for the last forty or so years. MABAS was sold to many communities as a way to get additional equipment and staffing to the scene without having to pay for it. This model worked fine for the most part but it is not without its own problems including multiple dispatch centers which delay responses and different organizations having different SOG’s.
Today, everyone is responding to more emergencies along with changes to building construction and fire behavior has introduced another problem, time. Fire departments need to be able to assemble in a very short time if they are going to have a chance to make a difference. Many communities took the first step with MABAS but never moved on from there. Instead they should have continued to progress as inefficiencies were found pushing for further consolidations of services. This would have allowed staffing and equipment to be set up more like the city of Chicago where companies are strategically placed to provide service over a slightly larger area but the staffing and equipment up to higher standards.
Duplication of equipment is a major problem in the suburbs. In this case two suburban departments each have a ladder truck but neither has the staffing to have it staffed on a regular basis. Having equipment without having the staffing to use it does little on the scene. This problem isn’t unique to Clarendon Hills and Hinsdale, it’s a product of having so many small communities trying to provide service to their communities. Oak Brook is asking the same questions, just in a different tone. Alternatives are out there such as the West Suburban Fire Alliance, RPM ( Palatine Rural, Palatine and Rolling Meadows) and the Lisle-Woodridge/Darien-Woodridge) functional consolidations.
#5 by Mike hellmuth on January 12, 2022 - 9:02 AM
The auto aid and box alarm systems in mabas is set up so command on the scene know what their getting (engine and truck companies)after reading the other comments I agree that in this tight economy based on use not
Every dept needs an aerial apparatus look at Bridgeview as an example
surrounded by truck companies………..
#6 by Scott on January 12, 2022 - 7:20 AM
According to the Mcgrath study done last year. .94 percent of Clarendon Hills calls were structure fires, Not even 1%. Average age of the department members was 51 years old. Why would the department purchase a depreciating asset that they may not be able to staff. Clarendon Hills is 1.8 square miles. Let Tri-State or Oak brook respond. Both neighboring departments just purchased brand new trucks. The Village board is right, not purchasing a new ladder truck, would be a horrible return on investment for the residents.
#7 by Pat on January 12, 2022 - 6:36 AM
Not every firehouse in big cities have ladder trucks, so why does every one in the burbs need one. Set it up so when a reported fire comes in, you get a truck from Hinsdale instead of their engine. Then you are getting a truck on the initial Still Alarm/reported fire. That does show why the combined departments work for fire departments. Having a few towns covered by 1 department. End up with the same manpower covering, it just eliminates the extra equipment that departments each have.
#8 by Dan on January 12, 2022 - 2:40 AM
According to the last annual report put put by the fire department, which is 2015, they only had 6 structure fires.
To me, that really justify buying a new ladder truck for the village. Share or refurbish or buy a used truck makes a lot more sense.
#9 by BMurphy on January 11, 2022 - 8:13 PM
Arguments about protecting ‘turf’ and ‘fiefdoms’ aside, this situation clearly illustrates the inevitability and likely benefits of a consolidation of these numerous, smaller departments and the also likely reduction or elimination of the duplicities currently at play.
#10 by Mike hellmuth on January 11, 2022 - 6:13 PM
Many years ago flossmoor and Homewood shared a truck company I believe
They both went in on the purchase but it didn’t last also Oak Park shared a truck company with River Forest and I do believe that deal also went by the wayside. Maybe Clarendon Hills would be willing to reimburse any neighboring suburb that decides to take them up on the deal and this has
nothing to do with box cards or auto aid this is about a suburb that’s not willing to find some financing to solve their issue………
#11 by harry on January 11, 2022 - 6:02 PM
why not just rehab the old pierce truck and then the pierce engine
#12 by Tim on January 11, 2022 - 3:42 PM
Many depts spend lots of money on “consultants” and their reports. After seeing many of these reports, my comment to the administration was……”you should have visited a few firehouses and talked to the guys at the kitchen table. They would have given you better ideas, better information and it would have been free.”
#13 by Mike hellmuth on January 11, 2022 - 2:34 PM
Classic suburban politics……..
#14 by Fred M on January 11, 2022 - 1:28 PM
While there are many different viewpoints about sharing etc. I was amused with the Village wanting to spend $30,000 on a “consultants view” when it seems like they have already have “studied” the situation many times over. Also amusing is the “gag” the Village seems to have put on the Chief. He is well versed in the towns needs etc. What are they afraid of???….. maybe the residents?? That department usually maximizes its resources well, so the resolution should be interesting.
#15 by Chuck on January 11, 2022 - 12:41 PM
So….they have $30,000 (TWICE!!) in the budget for a “consultant” but are bitching about budgeting for a new truck. Typical politician response.