West Cook News

The Elmhurst City Council at its February meeting heard about the reasons justifying adding to the fire department’s equipment inventory by purchasing a rescue vehicle.

“The purchase will have no effect on personnel,” Alderman Marti Deuter said at the Feb. 6 meeting. “The two firefighters currently assigned to the ladder truck would respond to a call with either the truck or the rescue squad depending on the nature of the call.” 

She said that adding a rescue squad to the fleet “helps us align our apparatus to the services our department is providing.” 

The fire department has been working with the city and finances since November to come up with this proposal, including a cost savings over the next two decades or so. The fire department currently has two front line engines, two reserve engines, a ladder truck, and a tower ladder. This equipment is shared between the two fire stations. 

The fire department said pursuing the purchase would result in a huge cost savings for the department. The fire department responds to both fire emergencies and medical emergencies, and bringing the large ladder trucks with all the fire equipment costs a lot more for the department and wears down both the truck and the city street a lot faster. The proposed rescue vehicle would be more like a pickup truck and would carry the medical equipment needed. It would cost $1.20 per mile compared to the $5.05 per mile for the ladder truck, and would preserve the more expensive vehicles and streets for a lot longer.

“Historically, we have equipped the department with the vehicles needed to respond to fires, and we still need access to that equipment,” Deuter said. “This report recognizes the changing nature of fire service and provides for a more efficient response.” 

Fire Chief Bill Anaszewicz made a presentation that convinced the council that the purchase would provide more efficient responses from their emergency services and would be more financially conservative in the coming years. 

Local Illinois firefighters have been dealing with some challenging times of late. Several nearby departments have lost longtime firefighters. The Itasca fire department mourned the loss of officer Frank Nuñez; Chicago lost paramedic and ambulance driver Aaron Buckley; Skokie lost Andrew Cutting, a 21-year firefighter who had held just about every position in the force; Franklin Park mourned the loss of Dominic Rubino; and Kirkland said goodbye to Ken Clark. All of the departments held ceremonies and traditions of honor for the fallen, with other local departments stepping in to cover any calls so that each member of the crew could attend the funerals and services.