@Driver21 : Right on point!! All there is on here is a bunch of arm chair *****ers. Absurd to base firefighters pays off of a median Peoria income - good grief!!

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@pictureme1 : "They all have fundraisers every year for their operations." So they are basically underfunded."Those departments often work together to fight fires in each others' locations."And understaffed.

@Mahkno : Technically true, but, generally those small town fire depts. are volunteer and many of the volunteers are layers of related family generations. I know many families who have had 3-4 firemen in their family thru generations, and/or at the same time. For instance, in my stepmother's family, her dad, uncles, cousins, etc served on the Hanna City Fire department. Years ago, there was one particular "middle of the night" fire between Farmington and Trivoli on Route 116 where they engaged several area volunteer departments as the house burnt down and a mother and her two daughters perished. The other two daughters survived. I had an uncle and cousin from Hanna City who assisted with that fire and were very emotionally upset after that incident.

@cjsummers : ive always wondered if there would be any cost savings having the fire department house the ambulance service instead of whatever amt does. the police and fire departments are a huge cost to the city especially the pensions. something has to change.

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@cjsummers : I know there is some reasoning why they have to respond to all medical calls having to do with basic life saving techniques but do they always beat the ambulance to every call? I agree that I don't think we need police, fire truck and ambulance at every single chest pain call.

@lanestar7 :
Depends on what kind of unit can respond quicker. If you or a loved one is having a heart attack, do you want to to wait 5 minutes for a rescue squad vs. a police officer who can help, and is there in 1 minute?

@lanestar7 : Good info. Thanks for providing it.

@DennisinMH : Yes it could totally be the police officer who knows basic life saving techniques instead of the fire dept. I am just thinking if there is a way to whittle down the response from 3 entities to 2.