Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates fire departments agree to loan each other vehicles when needed

Schaumburg and Hoffman Estates agreed to loan each other emergency vehicles when maintenance issues have temporarily taken an equivalent one out of service.

Commonly, two departments have an informal understanding for such circumstances, but the two sides recently had both village boards approve an intergovernmental agreement, Hoffman Estates Fire Chief Alan Wax said.

“I had it in previous places where I was chief,” he added.

Wax said Des Plaines had a similar arrangement when he was fire chief there with Mount Prospect.

Schaumburg recently had some vehicles out of service as well for maintenance, which likely expedited the agreement, Wax noted.

Schaumburg Fire Chief Fabio Puccini explained the proposal to his village’s public safety committee last month.

“We don’t have any kind of agreement written anywhere,” he said. “It’ll speed it up a little quicker. This is for longer-term situations.”

Schaumburg Village Trustee Jamie Clar, who chairs the committee, suggested before its unanimous recommendation vote that both departments being served by the Northwest Central Dispatch System probably made such an arrangement easier.

Because longer-term maintenance is usually the basis of the need, Wax said finding a partner likely to have a spare vehicle is often more important than proximity.

“I think it’s just a matter of who’s willing to work with who,” he said. “It’s not something that happens very often.”

Hoffman Estates has no other such agreements, but hasn’t ruled out negotiating more, Wax added.

While the borrower accepts full responsibility for the condition of an emergency vehicle, there’s no requirement for temporary signs covering the loaner’s name, he said.

There is not time limit on the agreement, but officials noted it could be dissolved at any point.