Durbin: Increase, don't cut money for fire departments

"Be prepared" has been the mantra of suburban fire departments forced to bolster security in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin came to a Rolling Meadows fire station Thursday to oppose a budget proposal to slash two federal programs that let local departments add firefighters and equipment.

As well, Rolling Meadows used the occasion to lobby for money for a new satellite fire station along Algonquin Road to serve the commercial corridor from Golf Road to Route 53.

Durbin, a Democrat who sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee, supports replenishing the federal programs, calling them critical. These are programs that have subsidized departments since the terrorist attacks six years ago.

"The first line of defense in America is when you dial 911 and you have well-trained and well-equipped people responding," Durbin said.

He supports increased funding for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant, which supplies fire departments with equipment and training, from $547 million this year to $560 million for 2008.

Durbin also backs spending $140 million next year, up from $115 million last year, for a program that enables departments to hire more firefighters.

Next year's budget proposal, however, calls for dismantling the program that helps hire staff, and reducing the Assistance to Firefighters Grant to $300 million, officials said.

Today marks the deadline for applying for the staffing grants. Rolling Meadows wants to add three more firefighters by winning a $316,000 grant over a five year period, Rolling Meadows Fire Chief Ron Stewart said.

"If these funds are cut, it could be disastrous to the fire service nationwide," Stewart said.

Each firefighter would cost $75,000, including benefits. In the first year of the grant, federal money would cover 90 percent of the cost. By the fifth year, the city would be responsible for all costs.

Rolling Meadows Mayor Ken Nelson also cited the importance of protecting the city in the post-Sept. 11 era. Global defense giant Northrop Grumman Corp. has a location in Rolling Meadows. Nelson said an attack against that location "could impact the entire defense of our nation."

Rolling Meadows fire officials also want $500,000 in federal money for a new engine or ambulance to help with plans to add a satellite station along Algonquin Road to serve the burgeoning commercial corridor from Golf Road to Route 53.

While the proposal would involve land acquisition, the station alone would cost about $2 million, officials said.