Fire station to close in East Dundee district

The Rock Road Lane station on the east side of the East Dundee Fire Protection District will close Dec. 1 in the face of a budget deficit. Trustees on the district board hope it will be a temporary closure.

The department has been renting the second station on a monthly basis for two years. Hank Clemmensen, a board trustee, said closing will save almost $40,000 in rent for the next budget year.

“It's just one of the ways to cut back on the spending,” Clemmensen said. “Because it only encompasses less than 10 percent of our calls, it's just a matter of economics.”

The East Dundee Fire Protection District is a little more than 10 square miles, serving the villages of East Dundee, South Barrington, Barrington Hills and unincorporated Kane and Cook counties. It averages about 1,200 calls per year and serves a population of about 4,500 people.

All of the employees working at the Rock Road Lane station will move to the main station on Third Street in East Dundee starting Dec. 1.

By maintaining the staffing level, Trustee Mark Guth said response times should barely be affected within a half-minute of what they are with the second station operating normally.

“There should be no problem to any of the residents,” Guth said.

Mutual aid and auto aid agreements with surrounding fire departments like Hoffman Estates and Streamwood remain in place.

“The eastern areas are still being protected,” Clemmensen said.

The district is looking into relocation of Station 2 for a future year. But, looking at the recently approved budget Clemmensen said though the idea is there, relocation won't be in 2011.

“It's mainly economics,” Clemmensen said.