Fire chiefs tell U.S. Rep. Underwood staff shortages, less funding is creating issues

Fire departments across Northern Illinois are feeling the pinch of staff shortages and less funding, causing stakeholders across the state to set up a task force to look for solutions.

Those issues have been elevated in the Illinois Valley, where hospital closures in Peru and Spring Valley have led to longer emergency responses. Instead of those first responders taking a patient to Peru or Spring Valley, the emergency medical staff/firefighters are traveling farther to Ottawa, Mendota or Princeton.

U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood. D-Naperville, met with fire officials from across the 14th Congressional District on Thursday at the Illinois Valley Community College Conference Center for them to express their concerns and ask how they can work together to apply for federal funding, community project funding and grant programs.

“If we don’t receive that SAFER grant for staffing, I think people’s lives are going to be in danger and may die.”

—  Spring Valley Fire Chief Todd Bogatitus

Spring Valley Fire Chief Todd Bogatitus said with the city’s hospital closure and the lack of volunteers in the community, he has applied for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Staffing For Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant to hire three full-time firefighters, but if his department doesn’t receive it, he said the community will be in a “life or death” situation. He said he is concerned about the future of the ambulance service in Spring Valley. 10/33 Ambulance, which serves Spring Valley, intends to be there for residents, said its Board President Barry Welbers.

Several chiefs expressed concerns over response times in their communities.

Andy Jackson, director of Putnam County Emergency Medical Service, asked what officials can do to receive reimbursement to remain operational.

“When that truck goes out we have to bring people in and that means payroll goes up, fuel usage goes up, wear and tear, and the vehicles go up,” Jackson said.

Bogatitus asked if communities could get help receiving federal funding.

Underwood said her office will supply letters of support or follow-ups with agencies, but it’s a good idea for officials to notify her office if their community is applying for federal grants.

“Sometimes we find out that folks are applying for things and don’t know that there might be another fund or another opportunity that they are better suited for,” she said.

The Ottawa Fire Department will receive a $731,849 SAFER grant to hire more staff in response to the closure of Spring Valley and Peru hospitals, Underwood said. The SAFER program provides funds to help fire departments hire additional firefighters, rehire or retain firefighters facing budget-related layoffs and recruit and retain volunteer firefighters.

OSF is in the process of reopening a hospital in Peru, having recently gained the state’s go-ahead. The hospital chain now is working on finalizing the sale with previous owner St. Margaret’s.

A question was asked of Underwood about the financial issues St. Margaret’s faced leading to its closure, and how to avoid it in the future.

“Not only how do we do that, but how do we diversify the health care system in this region so that if that next hospital system finds itself having some financial challenges all of us and our babies don’t have to suffer?” Underwood said, acknowledging the issue.

Underwood said her staff spends time “really digging into” and trying to understand what federal grant opportunities may be available for local municipalities in her district.

“They’re working really closely with either mayors or village presidents or staff or the county level staff to try to get folks well equipped to apply,” Underwood said. “Recently, we had a big opportunity to celebrate last week when the city of Ottawa secured over $700,000 in a FEMA grant.”

Underwood said while Ottawa’s grant was “right on time,” she understood the fire department needed more resources and faced a “variety of challenges and needs.”

Travis Siggers, acting division director of the Grant Division for FEMA Region 5, spoke Thursday about the process of applying for a grant, touching on the initial review and the importance of meeting the minimal requirements. After a grant application is reviewed it goes to the panel, obtains a score and goes to a second panel receives another score, then goes to a final decision.

Siggers said FEMA needs to work on providing departments with the reasons why they may not have been chosen for a specific grant.

“What we want to do with our divisions is to get out more in the community and really work with you, because some fire departments have a grant writer and some fire departments don’t have a grant writer,” Siggers said. “We are looking to get out there and help you with your application.”

Siggers said FEMA can’t tell departments if it’s a good application, but the agency can help with certain orders in the application because it is a competitive process.

The official also said if a department has an unsuccessful application and they want to resubmit the next year, if the new application does not reflect the application requirements of the new fiscal year – it won’t be scored. He recommended webinars offered by FEMA to assist departments in applying.

Tim Glass, area director of USDA Area 1, spoke Thursday about the opportunities available from the USDA for rural areas.

Glass reminded attendees on Oct. 1 the agency will move to the 2020 census standards, so if a community had an increase in median household income, it should look into applying prior to Oct. 1. Grant selection is based on medium household income and the health and safety of the community. Glass said the community facilities grants are up to $30,000 maximum.

Glass said the USDA will review items with any department and look through their projects with them. The answer may be no, but it’s what the agency is there for, he said. He also added working with city officials was an integral part of the process to ensure a project was a priority.

Underwood said her team was taking notes and wanted to hear from the attendees about “other needs.” Along with staffing, how to apply for grants and the hospital closures in the Illinois Valley, fire chiefs in the district asked about the national test education standards and possibly separating tax increment financing districts and fire districts.

Underwood ended the summit by offering any assistance departments may need, whether it is questions on qualifying for a grant or discussing an idea for one.

“We’re here to have this conversation with you,” Underwood said. “But, you have to submit it. If you don’t, you can’t come in after the fact.”

Officials in attendance said they were thankful for the opportunity to voice their concerns and gather information that may help combat issues facing their departments.

“Our concerns were similar to the other departments, which revolve around staffing,” DeKalb Fire Chief Mike Thomas said. “I don’t know what exactly the right answer is, except it’s made our department kind of evolve to reach out and cast a wider net for candidates.”

Romeoville Fire Chief Kent Adams and Plainfield Deputy Fire Chief Vito Bonomo III agreed recruitment was a concern, but one of the biggest stumbling blocks remains the national registry testing, they said.

Bogatitus said he hoped his voice was heard during the meeting, but still was concerned about the ongoing issues in his community. He said the fire department needs to be able to handle ambulance responses as the region changes.

“If we don’t receive that SAFER grant for staffing, I think people’s lives are going to be in danger and may die,” Bogatitus said, concerned with emergency response times.