The Courier-News has an article about consolidate talks between the West Dundee and Carpentersville Fire Departments.
In February, officials from Carpentersville and West Dundee began talking about the possibility of consolidating fire services. The idea has since gained some traction and at Monday’s West Dundee board meeting, officials from both communities, as well as union leaders and firefighters, agreed to move forward with a consolidation study.
Consolidating services is not a foreign concept for either the Carpentersville or West Dundee fire departments, as both are served by QuadCom Regional Dispatch Center, the multi-agency dispatch center located in Carpentersville that also covers East Dundee and Rutland Dundee Fire departments.
But further research has to be done to determine what type of consolidation would work best for the two communities.
“The time is right where we can take it to the next step and gather information so we can make an educated decision,” said West Dundee Chief Randy Freise.
“We’re all having economic difficulties but I think on a larger scale we can provide better service,” he said. “I think it’s worth the effort of getting the information.”
He said there are a few different types of consolidation, including a functional consolidation, meaning the fire departments would remain separate but work together more in responding to incidents and purchasing equipment. As far as fire station locations for both communities, Freise said already most are “laid out pretty well.”
