Fire departments constraint by budget cuts

A survey of US fire departments sponsored by the Fireman’s Fund, a subsidiary of Allianz Group, found that the current economic crisis is negatively impacting fire departments in the state of Illinois which are significantly constrained by budget concerns; staffing, recruitment and retention; and old or outdated equipment, gear and apparatus. For example, 66.0% of fire departments surveyed in the state admitted to having delayed in replacing equipment; more than half of departments (51%) have had to increase fund-raising efforts and/or grant writing because of budget cutbacks; and half (50%) of volunteer and combination departments are losing volunteers who need to look for other jobs or sources of income. However, not all the findings were grim: 92.0% of departments have a thermal imaging camera, considered a critical tool to identify hot spots and locate injured or sleeping persons in a burning building; and 93.0% of departments have hydraulic extrication equipment, but only 69.0% are confident that they have the extrication equipment they need to extract accident victims in a timely manner. The study surveyed nearly 9,500 fire departments in the US, including 460 fire departments in Illinois.