Glenview Village Board Votes On 'New Direction' Of Emergency Response Services

Press release from the Village of Glenview:

After holding a special meeting Monday, March 8, to hear the concerns and comments of more than 50 speakers, the Village Board of Trustees gave new direction to Village staff that keeps all five fire stations open at this time and consider other recommendations from in-depth data reviewed over the last two years.

The Board's new consensus keeps resources at Fire Station 13, 831 East Lake Avenue. It also includes evaluating a “jump" company model, which means when a call comes in firefighters “jump" onto the appropriate vehicle to respond to the call whether it is for a fire, ambulance, hazardous materials spill or rescue. That concept would increase access to the number of vehicles available to transport patients, which aligns with the Board's objective to match response services with community need.

The goal remains to address the identified increase in community need for ambulance service, given that more than 65 percent of current emergency calls in Glenview are now for emergency medical care. That may include increasing the number of ambulances in service 24 hours a day.

The Board altered its original February 2 operational direction in response to community concerns about closing Fire Station 13. As with the prior plan, the total number of fire and EMS responders employed by the Village will remain unchanged, and the aim is to make the Fire Department more versatile, provide relief to other ambulance crews in Glenview and improve overall service for the safety of the community.

Fire Chief Tony DeRose and command staff members will develop and implement the new plan and, at the Board's direction, review and report back on the progress.

• Watch the meeting here

This press release was produced by the Village of Glenview. The views expressed are the author's own.