House Leader Jim Durkin, officials, members of the Western Springs (IL) Department of Fire and EMS, Village staff, and residents, recently gathered at Fire Station 1 to celebrate the arrival of a new fire engine.
The 2021 Pierce Saber Pumper replaces a 2001 Laverne engine, which served the Village for over 21 years. The new Engine #1711 was purchased at a cost of more than $500,000 using legislative appropriated grant funds from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
It was manufactured in Florida and recently arrived in Illinois. Fire Chief Mike Kelly described some of the features of the new engine, including onboard vehicle extrication equipment and the ability to pump up to 1500 gallons of water a minute.
Village President Alice Gallagher expressed appreciation to House Leader Durkin for his role in acquiring the newest addition to the Fire Department’s fleet. “It is unlikely we could have allocated the funds necessary for this public safety improvement without Leader Durkin’s strong support to secure the grant,” she said.
Leader Durkin began his remarks by lauding the Department of Fire & EMS. “First of all, I’d like to thank all of the men and women of the Department for their service to this Village” he said. He went on to describe his willingness to offer assistance to secure funding for the new fire engine.
The Department operates out of two fire stations in Western Springs, and Durkin noted the importance of both stations being fully equipped to respond to emergencies. The Department of Fire & EMS is staffed mostly by paid-on-call personnel along with full[1]time, contracted paramedics/firefighters, and seeks new recruits from within the community annually.
The Department’s fleet includes an engine, ladder truck, two ambulances and a command vehicle, in addition to the newly acquired Saber engine.
