The decade of the ’70s brought many acquisitions. In 1971 two new emergency vans were purchased at the price of $5,544. Firefighters worked to convert them to ambulances.
An offer to the Oak Park Fire Department for a ladder truck was made for $6,000. The truck was a 1942 American LaFrance and was purchased in August.
Fuel at Station 2
Vehicles received fuel from various gas stations throughout town. Nevertheless, a couple of these stations went out of business. Chief Paul requested a 1000 gallon tank and pump be put in at station 2.
Commissioners
An ordinance was adopted in January 1971 with regards to having commissioners for the fire district and that was adopted. The first three commissioners were Mr. Edwin Alberts, Mr. Arthur Pringle and the Reverend Glenn Mensing.
Ambulance Service & Dispatching
In March of 1971 legislation was being pushed by the Illinois Department of Public Health to make ambulance service available solely through the Fire Department.
When one of the emergency vans went to a call, they did not necessarily transport the patient. The officer would determine if a private ambulance could be used. If they rendered the call a life or death situation, the Fire Department would transport.
Dispatching was performed by the Police Department throughout these times, although it was becoming a burden to them. The district decided to require the first responding fireman to the station to take the radio. They hired dispatchers to come in during the day to dispatch calls.
Pictured: Larry Campbell, Charles Wagner and Steve Zaccard
Acquiring More Apparatuses
An accident that involved Truck 99 resulted in a total loss. A used ladder truck was needed until the new Pirsch arrived. They purchased a 1942 truck from Philadelphia, the engine blew.
A flatbed truck was used to finish the trip back to Carpentersville. Once back in town they took an engine from “Old Engine 93” and put it in the truck. This truck was used until the delivery of the Pirsch in 1975.
July of 1973 bids were taken for a 100-foot ladder truck. Bids were received from seven companies and three made the last cut. These were Peter Pirsch and Sons, Mack Trucks and Ward La France Corporation. Peter Pirsch was awarded the contract for $96,208. This aerial ladder truck was in service until March of 2000.
Ambulance Service Changes
A very important time in the district’s future was about to surface. A special election was to be held to determine if the ambulance service should be the sole responsibility of the district.
Mr. True of Northwest Ambulance Service came to a Board meeting because he was concerned that this action would put ambulance companies out of business. On May 23, 1972, a canvass of voters turned down this referendum 1201 against 817 for the ambulance service.
Emergency Medical Technicians
Also in 1972, Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) became a reality. EMT’s were trained in first aid and first responder aspects. In 1973, Jack Epperson became a paramedic through McHenry Hospital, and Sherman Hospital held their first paramedic class in 1974.
Sherman became a resource hospital in 1975. It should be known that Carpentersville was the first town in this area to have an ambulance staffed with paramedics.
Carpentersville would answer paramedic calls to neighboring towns. The paramedics that Carpentersville had at the time were graduates of Sherman Hospital’s first paramedic class in 1974.
Trustees
In June of 1973, some problems began to arise. A well-liked, level headed Trustee by the name of Kazmir Palac retired. At that time the Dundee Township Board of Auditors were responsible for appointing a new Fire District Trustee.
James Evans
A man named James Evans was appointed. As a Trustee, he was concerned with the dealings of the Fire District. He questioned some of the practices of the Fire District and made no secret of his opposition toward Carpentersville’s involvement in emergency care and transport of patients.
He would no longer allow firefighters to go with the ambulance to the hospital. This did not sit well with the Fire District as they felt that Trustee Evans was trying to keep them from providing ambulance service and emergency medical aid. He went so far as to ask the Village to take over the Fire District.
This was not successful, but history shows this was not the last attempt.
Trustee Referendum
Considering these problems the district held a referendum on whether Trustees should be appointed or elected. On February 9, 1974, the voters decided to have Trustees elected. After a couple more years of waiting, another vote to see if the residents wanted the district to provide sole ambulance service was held on October 15, 1977.
A special tax of one-quarter of 1% on an assessment of one hundred dollars maximum was requested. The referendum passed 591 for and 377 against. The resolution passed. Chief Paul was quoted as saying The prime responsibility of the fire service is to save life and property, and to prevent human suffering.
In 1979 the district decided to sign a contract with Quadcom. The Board of Directors consisted of one official from the neighboring towns of East Dundee, West Dundee and Rutland Dundee, but there was no representative from Carpentersville. The district Trustees had felt they could dispatch more efficiently with their own dispatch center and posted an add for communication specialist/fireman.