Excerpts from rrstar.com:
The Loves Park city council is exploring the possibility of enhancing its volunteer fire department by introducing a daytime crew. This initiative aims to address the current issue of slower response times, which currently stand at twice the speed of the neighboring North Park Fire Protection District.
Loves Park’s existing volunteer firefighting team, consisting of around 35 members, typically responds to emergencies from their respective homes. Fire officials argue this approach contributes to the slower response times. In an effort to reduce the time it takes to arrive at incidents, the city plans to deploy a team of three firefighters, alongside two supervisors, to man the 400 Grand Avenue station from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., potentially starting as early as August.
These firefighters would receive hourly wages ranging from $12 to $20, based on their level of experience. Given that they would average around 28 hours per week, the city wouldn't need to provide health insurance benefits, keeping costs relatively low at approximately $200,000 annually.
Data from the first three months of the year reveals that Loves Park's average response time was 15.2 minutes, whereas North Park, covering parts of Machesney Park and unincorporated areas of Winnebago County, managed to respond in just six minutes. Interestingly, response times remained fairly consistent throughout the day.
Introducing the daytime crew would increase the fire department’s annual spending by a third, bringing the total budget close to $1 million. Recent incidents highlighted delays, such as the 27-minute response to 7349 Chucks Way and 24 minutes to both 12414 Kings Point Dr. and 5625 Covey Ridge Trail.
However, progress has been made through a new auto aid agreement signed in February between Loves Park and North Park fire departments. This collaboration has already shown results, reducing average response times to 13.3 minutes in March, compared to 17.6 minutes in February and 15.3 minutes in January.
Despite these efforts, Loves Park still faces significant logistical hurdles. The mayor has expressed interest in constructing a new fire station, estimated to cost around $5 million, to further improve response times in critical areas like the vicinity of Mercyhealth Sportscore Two and the new Mercyhealth Hospital and Trauma Center being built at the intersection of East Riverside Boulevard and Interstate 90.
Since Loves Park does not impose a property tax, funding options are limited to either issuing bonds or seeking voter approval for additional tax revenue to cover the new station's construction costs.
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