West Chicago unveils 2 new fire stations

Firefighters rushing off to an emergency have enough to think about without worrying whether one of them remembered to turn off the burner under the pot of chili.

At the West Chicago Fire Protection District's two new firehouses, that's no problem.

Both are equipped with a system that shuts down the six-burner cooktop, double oven and outdoor grill automatically when an alarm sounds - "So we don't go off on a call and leave something on the stove and burn our own firehouse," Chief Ron Ackerman said.

That's just one of the state-of-the-art features in the twin fire stations, which cost a total of $7.7 million.

Fire Station No. 2 is at 1651 Atlantic Drive. Fire Station No. 3 is at 1080 Commerce Drive.

Voters approved the project in April 2007 to speed emergency response time in the 28-square-mile fire protection district that's crisscrossed by train tracks. The public was invited to a grand opening earlier this month.

Ackerman hasn't crunched all the numbers yet on how much response time has improved since the two stations opened. "I truly believe we are providing better service," he said.

Here's a behind the scenes, by-the-numbers look at the new firehouses.

Size: 17,000 square feet

New equipment purchased: One ladder truck

Additional staff hired: 12

Beds in bunkroom: 8

Refrigerators in kitchen: 3

High-tech: Status screens throughout each station provide a constant update on the availability of all equipment in the fire protection district. Exhaust hoses automatically disconnect from the fire trucks when an alarm sounds.

Comforts of home: Recliners and a flat-screen TV in the "day room," a library for studying and a workout room with treadmill, bike and weights.

"The guys live a third of their life here," Ackerman said.

More photos: See a slide show at wegofpd.org.