Article highlights changing trend in fire service as responses for EMS continue to grow

Excerpts from MySuburbanLife.com:

Chief Tony Huemann of the McHenry Township Fire Protection District once dreamed of rushing into a burning building. Over his long career, he’s had plenty of chances to live that dream—but things have changed. Fire safety improvements and the rising need for medical care have made traditional fire calls far less common.

The role of a firefighter today is evolving. More and more, the job is about responding to medical emergencies rather than fires. Chief Huemann says that aspiring firefighters now need to be paramedics before they even apply, and many have higher levels of education than in the past. He also notes that modern firefighters are trained more frequently, even though the skills they use are becoming less common in daily operations.

In the Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District, EMS responses have consistently outpaced fire calls since at least 2001. In that year, medical calls made up 53% of total responses, but by 2012, that number had risen to 68%. Meanwhile, fire calls dropped from 47% to 32% over the same period.

In Crystal Lake, where fire and EMS services were combined in 1980, the shift has been even more dramatic. Last year, the department handled almost twice as many EMS calls as it did in 2000. In 2014, there were just 56 fire calls, compared to 169 in 2003.

This trend isn’t unique to local departments—it reflects national patterns. According to the National Fire Protection Association, fire calls have dropped by 58.5% from 1980 to 2013, while emergency medical service calls have surged by 323% in the same time frame.

“We’re becoming much safer when it comes to fires,” said Kenneth Willette, manager of the association’s public fire protection division. “Modern fire codes, better building materials, and improved suppression systems all contribute to this trend.”

The aging population is also playing a major role in the changing demands on firefighters. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts a 7% growth in firefighter jobs between 2012 and 2022, driven largely by the increased need for emergency medical services among older adults.

Woodstock Fire Chief Ralph Webster acknowledges the shift and says officials are considering how to adjust staffing and resources accordingly. “We’re looking at moving more people toward handling medical calls and reducing the focus on fire apparatus,” he said. “Our job has changed, and we need to adapt.”

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