| By Big Radio News Staff |
The public debate over emergency coverage in the stateline region burns on.
A deal between the town of Beloit and the city of South Beloit took effect in October on a weekend when Chief Dan Pease says there would have been no staffing at the South Beloit firehouse.
Under the terms of the deal, “the town of Beloit will provide staffing to South Beloit fire station, up to three personnel a day. Typically, it’s two people a day,” Pease said.
The chief says the move was a response to a flagging number of firefighting volunteers in South Beloit. That’s a trend that’s playing out in small fire departments nationwide.
A group of former firefighters critical of the arrangement has emerged, saying the level of staffing still isn’t sufficient and claiming that it doesn’t make sense financially for the city of South Beloit.
That group has organized a meeting at at South Beloit High School at 10 a.m. Jan. 25 to discuss the change. Pease says the move has been for the better.
“These individuals that are heading this (opposition) — I have met with these individuals, answered their questions, and for them to continue on with being disgruntled, it kind of floors me,” Pease said.
Pease says another advantage for South Beloiters is that full-time personnel are now on the front line to respond to emergency calls.
“One of the big differences is going from a part-time fire department to a full-time, unionized staffing model is when anybody uses our personnel in auto or mutual aid, they know they are getting highly trained and skilled individuals,” he said.
The city has a meeting of its own planned to address the issue. A Committee of the Whole meeting will follow the regular city council meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 21, at the city wastewater treatment plant at 100 Perry Ave.
