East Dundee shuffling safety facilities
East Dundee Fire District officials say using the fire station on East Dundee's far east side as the primary ambulance response station will not delay or jeopardize services to the rest of the district, including East Dundee's downtown.
Fire protection district trustees last month approved placing one of the district's ambulances on reserve and running ambulance calls solely from Station Two, on Rock Road Lane, leaving Station One on East Third Street in downtown East Dundee with a medically equipped engine but no full-time ambulance.
The district serves East Dundee, South Barrington, Barrington Hills, and adjacent unincorporated portions of Kane and Cook counties.
Fire Chief Mark Rakow said services would not be disrupted with ambulances traveling from Rock Road Lane because the engine at Station One is equipped with the same advanced life support apparatus that are found in an ambulance. The engine, however, cannot transport patients, he said.
"When we respond to an emergency and we walk in with our equipment ... people don't know if it is an engine or an ambulance waiting outside," Rakow said. "When it comes time to transport there will be a cot waiting. Nothing is going to change in terms of service."
The advanced life support engine is versatile, Rakow said, because it can provide emergency medical services as well as fire and rescue help.
Rakow said the changes are not permanent and that the district is conducting a 30-day trial to determine the effectiveness of the modifications.
Fire district Trustee Hank Clemmensen said designating a three-man company at Station One as the primary engine station will increase firefighter safety by ensuring at least three firefighters arrive at the scene of a fire at the same time. The National Fire Protection Association recommends a four-person crew when responding to a fire. But because the Rock Road Lane station is a two-person station, running an engine required people from both stations to meet up at a fire.
"Having a three-man engine puts us one person closer (to the recommended four-man crew)," Clemmensen said. "There is always a lieutenant on board, always a person in charge of that crew."
If another ambulance is needed, Clemmensen said, off-duty firefighters are called back to put the Station One vehicle in service.
Officials from West Dundee and Carpentersville, which share mutual aid duties with East Dundee, said their departments have not encountered problems with the new arrangement.
"As a neighboring community with mutual aid responsibilities and obligations, we will continue to monitor the change in services to determine the impact on our service delivery and possible increase in the number of calls," West Dundee Village Manager Joe Cavallaro said.
Carpentersville Fire Chief John Schuldt said East Dundee needed to make adjustments that best serve residents and the department.
"We have not seen any dramatic or drastic effects on our services," Schuldt said. "They had to make a change for their department. If there are problems later on, then I would sit down and talk with the chief."