Is North Elmhurst Shorted On Emergency Response?

ELMHURST, IL — An Elmhurst alderman this week asked his colleagues to include money in the budget to ensure quicker emergency response times on the city's north side.

The issue came up during the City Council's budget meeting on Monday.

In January, the city moved its "rapid response" vehicle, which had been at the city's north fire station, to the one on the south side. The city did so because statistics showed lagging response times due to increased call times in the southwest quadrant, Fire Chief Thomas Freeman said in a memo last week.

Since the city got the rapid response vehicle, the city has arrived with advanced life support before fire trucks 98 percent of the time. That is up from 72 percent in 2016, before the city got the rapid response vehicle.

However, Ward 3 Alderman Michael Bram, who represents the northeast side, proposed the city get a rapid response vehicle for that section of town.

He said the north side is farther away from Elmhurst Hospital. He also said his figures show that towns neighboring the city's north side seek mutual aid more often than those on Elmhurst's southern boundary.

"That means our equipment is elsewhere," Bram said. "Is the whole city of Elmhurst having the same amount of response time that is necessary? Obviously, we know with heart attacks and strokes, seconds count," which he added puts the north side at higher risk given that it's farther from the hospital.

No other alderman seconded Bram's proposal. That includes two others from the north side, Ward 3's Dannee Polomsky and Ward 2's Bob Dunn. Ward 2's other seat is vacant.

Ward 4 Alderwoman Noel Talluto said Bram's concept may have merit, but a budget discussion wasn't the right time to make the decision.

Dunn emphasized that the city's advanced life support arrives faster than fire trucks on most calls.

"It's doing its job, and I'm happy to see that," he said.

Bram agreed, but said he was "voicing concern that we have the ability to have (advanced life support) all throughout Elmhurst in a timely manner."

In his memo, Chief Freeman said he was satisfied with the operation of one rapid response vehicle.

"There may come a day when a second rapid response vehicle and/or a third ambulance would need to be placed into service due to the steady increase in emergency medical service demands in the City of Elmhurst," Freeman said. "However, at this time, based on the total number of incidents and the ongoing statistical analysis, I do not see that implementation in the immediate future."

He described the rapid response vehicle as an "extremely flexible response mode by being able to self-dispatch to scenes..."