Oak Brook backs off on cutting ambulance

The village of Oak Brook has backed off a plan to eliminate one of its two ambulances to save $350,000 a year.

A week after staff notified Northlake-based Paramedic Services Incorporated of the village's plans to cancel its contract - and touted the move as "smart government" in a news release - the village board decided to hold off on taking action.

Instead, the board decided to create a committee to look at "all the various options" in a report by fire safety analysts McGrath Consulting Group, said Village Manager David Niemeyer.

Eliminating an ambulance was not one of the consultant's recommendations.

In a letter to Oak Brook residents, three former Oak Brook fire chiefs denounced the move as "a threat to the community we took an oath to protect."

Oak Brook is struggling to cope with a sharp decline in sales tax revenues due to the troubled economy. Residents do not pay a property tax for village services.

"Nobody would want to do this (eliminate an ambulance) in ordinary times," Niemeyer said.

In addition to its own staff, the village has a contract with PSI to provide two firefighter/paramedics per shift - the staffing for the second ambulance. About 20 percent of emergency calls occur when there are two non-related emergencies going on at once. If Oak Brook eliminated one ambulance, neighboring communities would be called to respond and "there could be a significant delay," said James Bodony, retired Oak Brook fire chief.

Furthermore, some calls - such as cardiac arrests and high-speed crashes - need two two-person ambulance crews. "If someone is in full cardiac arrest, four people are barely enough," Bodony said.

The committee to study the report will be formed during the next month, Niemeyer said. The village already has adopted some of the consultant's recommendations, including a wireless fire alarm system to reduce the village's comparatively high number of false alarms. The village also is changing its procedure for false alarm notification and follow-up, Niemeyer said. And it has put a fire truck and a reserve engine up for sale, as the consultants recommended.

The 82-page fire study report is available online at www.oak-brook.org.