Eckhoff fire merger idea not radical
DuPage County Board member Grant Eckhoff's suggestion of a county fire department is long overdue. While quite radical in its appearance, it's only radical here in political Illinois.
County fire departments in major metropolitan areas have existed for years across the country and many are considered the most advanced, progressive fire departments in the country. The Los Angeles, Miami, Honolulu, Baltimore metro areas all have county departments where local communities contract with the county for fire protection.
If anything, Eckhoff's proposal for the purposes of political district reduction, understates the benefits of a countywide department. Economies of scale, reduction of administrative redundancy, greater advanced training potential, higher organizational efficiency and morale all would actually make every DuPage community better protected, the ultimate goal or at least that is what it should be.
Eckhoff's proposal shouldn't be confined to just the merger of existing fire protection districts. All fire departments in the county, both municipal and fire protection districts, should be allowed to participate should they choose. Many municipalities would relish the thought of an opportunity to reduce their already stretched budgets as well as the possibility to shift their pension burdens.
Most fire departments in the county are already several steps toward a county department. Automatic and mutual aid agreements, joint training exercises, a communications center that contains well over half the county's fire departments, regional special teams and procedural standardization already exist. Even federal grant funding tends to be awarded to those areas where greater regionalization is occurring. No doubt, there is much work that would need to be done and many parties that have to be on board, but certainly in this era of required greater government efficiency, the time has now come and the county would be wise to at least move to the next step.
Chris Truty
Wheaton