Libertyville Fire Could Share Knollwood Fire Calls

LAKE COUNTY, IL -- Officials may vote Tuesday on whether to merge the Knollwood Fire Department with larger agencies in Lake Bluff, Libertyville and Lake Forest. The public meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 21 at Gorton Community Center, 400 E. Illinois Road in Lake Forest. The Knollwood Fire Department serves an area less than 1 square mile in unincorporated Lake County, which handles about 550 fire calls per year from 880 homes and 1,800 residents, according to the Daily Herald.

Consolidation talks began in 2017 as a way to cut costs. Two proposals are currently on the table and could be voted on Tuesday.

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The first involves Lake Forest handling half of the fire calls in Knollwood while Libertyville takes the other half, according to the Daily Herald. The second proposal calls for Lake Bluff and Knollwood to merge and would mean the merged department would need to be one to two more ambulances in the coming years.

MORE VIA THE DAILY HERALD and the Knollwood Fire Department website