Excerpts from rrstar.com:
The Loves Park City Council is exploring ways to enhance its volunteer fire department by introducing a daytime crew, aiming to reduce response times that are currently double those of the neighboring North Park Fire Protection District.
Currently, the city’s 35 volunteer firefighters respond from their homes when emergencies occur, which fire officials say contributes to slower response times. To address this, the city plans to have three firefighters and two supervisors stationed at the 400 Grand Ave. station from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., potentially starting as early as August.
The new crew will be paid between $12 and $20 per hour based on experience. With an average of 28 hours per week, they won’t qualify for health insurance benefits. The initiative could cost the city up to $200,000 annually.
A review of the first three months of the year revealed that Loves Park’s average response time was 15.2 minutes, compared to just 6 minutes in North Park, which serves the southern part of Machesney Park and some unincorporated areas of Winnebago County. Interestingly, response times didn’t vary much throughout the day.
Adding a day crew would increase the fire department’s annual budget by 33%, bringing it to around $1 million per year.
For specific incidents, the response times were 27 minutes to 7349 Chucks Way, and 24 minutes to both 12414 Kings Point Dr. and 5625 Covey Ridge Trail.
A recent auto aid agreement between Loves Park and North Park, signed in February, has already shown positive results. In March, the average response time dropped to 13.3 minutes, compared to 17.6 minutes in February and 15.3 minutes in January.
Despite these improvements, the city still faces significant logistical challenges. The mayor is pushing for a new fire station estimated to cost about $5 million. This new facility would help improve response times near key locations like Mercyhealth Sportscore Two and the upcoming Mercyhealth Hospital and Trauma Center at the intersection of East Riverside Boulevard and Interstate 90.
Since Loves Park does not collect property taxes, funding options are limited to issuing bonds or seeking voter approval for new tax revenue sources to support the project.
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