Palos Fire District closes a station

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The Palos Fire Protection District has closed Station 2 at times due to budget constraints, but voters on Tuesday approved a property tax rate hike to address its financial woes. | Joseph P. Meier~Sun-Times Media

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Updated: February 12, 2012 8:10AM

Saying it had no alternative because of budget constraints — and admitting response times may be longer as a result — the Palos Fire Protection District has closed one of its two firehouses.

Station 2, at 13010 S. 104th Ave., in Palos Park, has been closed since Jan. 3 and will remain closed through the end of the month, Fire Chief Steve Carr said Tuesday.

Station 1, at 8815 W. 123rd St., in Palos Park, is open, but will be closed on an alternating basis with Station 2 starting in February, Carr said. Whether the closures alternate weekly or monthly or otherwise hasn’t been determined, and even when Station 2 is open, personnel might stay nights at Station 1 because of space issues, Carr said.

Carr said a reduction in staff of six part-timers — the equivalent of two full-time jobs — made the closing necessary. That leaves eight employees on duty at any given time instead of 10, he said.

Carr said the closures are not an attempt to rally support for the property tax rate increase the district is seeking. A referendum question on the March 20 ballot will ask residents to approve an increase of 25 cents for each $100 of equalized assessed valuation. The language on the ballot states that property taxes would rise by $82.50 for every
$100,000 of fair market value.

“This is not about showboating or grandstanding. Absolutely not,” Carr said. “The board has said we can’t cut service. In November, I went to the board and said, ‘There’s no money left, we have to do something.’ I suggested we downsize some staff, which would mean closing a station. We have no other alternative.”

The district still has a budget shortfall of $200,000, Carr said, despite not replacing trucks or ambulances.

“We’ve been struggling with trying to stave off cuts,” he said. “We’ve cut some staff; our deputy chief position was eliminated almost two years ago. We’ve cut fire prevention, public education, almost all new equipment purchases. We’ve shelved all of our five-year equipment plans and have held off on all but the immediate facilities upgrades. Where else can we cut? All that remains is staffing.”

Both stations will be fully operational “when staffing allows,” Carr said, but that’s unlikely in the near future.

The district has 29 full-time employees, including Carr. Firefighter/paramedics work 24 hours on duty and then have 48 hours off.

“Unfortunately, when a fire station is closed, emergency services may be responding from across the district, resulting in a longer response time,” the district said in a news release. “Additionally, when dealing with multiple emergency calls, ambulance or fire service may be dispatched from adjacent communities, further delaying response times.”

Carr said he lives three blocks from Station 2.

“And my wife is not very happy (about the closing),” Carr said. “But we had to cut expenses to make the district more fiscally responsible.”

The district covers 15.5 square miles, including the entire village of Palos Park and parts of Palos Heights, Orland Park and unincorporated Palos Township. More than 2,400 requests for service are received every year, according to the district website.

Palos Park village manager Rick Boehm declined comment on the closing of the station. Palos Heights city administrator Dan Nisavic did not return a telephone message, and Orland Fire Protection District spokesman Ray Hanania did not immediately respond to an email.

Carr said the district “has wonderful relationships” with neighboring fire departments that can assist on emergencies, but he said, “it does take them time to get here” and “they’re doing what they can to reduce their costs.”

The district’s residents in April voted down a referendum seeking a 19-cent tax rate hike. Carr said he is surprised to hear from residents not pleased with the station closing.

“This did not sneak up on us,” he said.