By Cynthia M. Ellis
The Telegraph
FOSTERBURG, Ill. — Firefighters lacking training will no longer be allowed to respond to fire calls.
The Fosterburg Fire Protection District Board discussed a plan Tuesday night that would allow volunteer firefighters who lack the required training hours to be moved into an auxiliary category.
Trustee William Theisen said if firefighters are not interested in training then maybe they should just resign from the district.
“I see there are firefighters with zero hours in training,” Theisen said. “Either you are a firefighter or you’re not.”
Dr. David Thornton, president of the board, agreed. He said firefighters who are not properly trained could become a liability for the district.
Fire Chief John Holtorf said liability issues are the reason he felt it necessary to establish an auxiliary for firefighters.
“There are a few guys who don’t want to respond to fire scenes anymore, but they are interested in doing dispatch and other things that we do,” Holtorf said.
Holtorf said volunteers who are not up to date with the state’s requirements for fire protection would be moved into an auxiliary position. He said there were less than a dozen volunteers, many retired, who did not have the proper qualifications for responding to and working a structure fire.
According to the Illinois Fire Protection Act, firefighters are required to meet a minimum of 24 hours of training per year. Categories include everything from structural firefighting, fire suppression, hazardous materials, technical rescue, and confined space to driver and ladder training.
The district’s attorney, Jim Sinclair, said if the board approved the auxiliary then it needed to have clear-cut lines on the rules for an auxiliary member.
“From a liability standpoint they need to be kept off the fire ground,” Sinclair said.
Sinclair said all full-time firefighters and volunteers would also need to be aware of the limits of an auxiliary member.
Thornton said next month the board would be discussing an independent audit put together by Capt. Shawn Bloemker with the Godfrey Fire Protection District that took a look at the districts training, run responses and equipment necessary to operate efficiently.
“I was told he had the audit done, but it was too late to get it on the agenda for this meeting,” Thornton said.
The district approved the audit in July.
Copyright 2009 The Telegraph