Fire districts to assist each other across train tracks

Two Northwest suburban fire protection districts have taken steps to reduce their risk of waiting for a freight train in responding to an emergency now that the Canadian National Railway is routing trains over what used to be the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railroad.

The Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District and Lake Zurich Fire Protection District have expanded their agreement for simultaneous dispatch of personnel for fires to now include calls for critical medical emergencies as well.

While the route of the EJ&E is well established, Canadian National's use of the line for trains up to 10,000 feet long has increased the danger of delays for fire and paramedic responses, officials say.

Barrington officials believe the town has been particularly hard hit by the sale of the EJ&E to Canadian National.

"It's not the optimal solution, but it's another layer of resources we can kick in at this point," Barrington Fire Chief Jim Arie said.

The layout of the EJ&E makes it likely that Lake Zurich will be helping out Barrington more often than the reverse, both sides acknowledge. But Barrington personnel would have easier access to an area of Lake Zurich's jurisdiction along Old McHenry Road near Hawthorn Woods if a freight train showed up at the wrong time.

Considering that Barrington also brings a water tanker to fires in Lake Zurich's jurisdiction, the agreement is evenhanded, Lake Zurich Fire Chief Terry Mastandrea said.

Under the revised agreement, available personnel from both departments will be dispatched simultaneously for any advanced life-support call. These include cardiac emergencies, strokes, seizures and burns, Mastandrea said.

The same would not be true for basic life-support calls which include minor cuts, broken fingers and the like.

The effectiveness of the mutual responses will depend on how many other calls are going on simultaneously and whether a train does become a factor, both chiefs said.

A more effective solution would be a grade separation at the EJ&E tracks and Route 14, Arie said.

Barrington also has sued, arguing that community impacts were not thoroughly assessed before the Surface Transportation Board approved the sale of the EJ&E and asking for such remedies as grade separations.