O'FALLON, IL (May 27, 1999) -- With the City of O'Fallon growing by leaps and bounds, the fire department that serves the city and surrounding rural areas is doing everything it has to in order to keep up.

Three O'Fallon fire fighters attended a recent City Council meeting in order to update the aldermen about how the fire department operates and how it strives to keep the residents in and around O'Fallon safe.

The update was especially important to the City Council since six of the aldermen are new to their positions this year.

Captain Jerry Brewer gave a Power Point demonstration outlining everything from the department's mission statement to why the department uses the siren heard whenever there is a fire call.  Chief Dave Little and Assistant Chief Brent Saunders were also on hand to help Brewer with the presentation and answer questions.

Visit the official OVFD Web Site at OFallonFire.Com

One of the most confusing facts about the department that is often misunderstood is that there are actually two fire departments in O'Fallon.  One is the City of O'Fallon's department and the other is the O'Fallon Shiloh Valley Rural Fire Protection District that serves areas in Shiloh and the rural areas between O'Fallon and Lebanon and O'Fallon and Troy.  In all, the departments serve an area covering approximately 47 square miles.

There are three fire stations, including Station 1 next to the old City Hall on Washington Street, Station 2 at the corner of Third Street and Highway 50 and Station 3 in Shiloh.

For years Station 1 served as the main station for the department, but when Station 2 was refurbished and expanded, it became the place where all meetings and gatherings are held.

The locations of the three departments help the fire fighters respond to any fire as quickly as possible.  Fire fighters usually respond to the station that is closest to their home so that they are dressed and on a piece of apparatus heading to the fire with little delay.

The three stations also help the department avoid delays that could be caused by trains traveling through town.

The mission statement of the department is quite simple, but it was important enough to be the lead-off topic in the presentation to the City Council.

• Provide the citizens of O'Fallon and the surrounding fire district with a highly trained, rapidly responsive fire and rescue force.
• Provide fire inspection services as required and provide timely fire safety and prevention education.

Brewer explained that the chief and assistant chief are elected by the fire department membership.  The lower-ranking officers are then appointed.

In listening to Little, Saunders and Brewer talk, a sense of pride was displayed while talking about the success of the volunteer fire department.  But that pride was never more evident than when they started talking about the less than four minute average response time they have to any fire in the district.

Little said even a full-time department couldn't post a time much better.  Brewer explained that response times are vitally important because fire doubles in size every seven seconds.

Brewer also said response times have been reduced since the implementation of a traffic signal preemption system that is used on the fire equipment.  The system allows the fire fighters to take control of traffic lights when they are approaching signalized intersections and make sure they see nothing but green lights all the way to the scene of the fire.  Brewer said since this system has been used, he has seen a huge reduction in near misses with other vehicles.

The fire fighters are also proud of their work in trying to lower the city's Insurance Safety Office (ISO) Rating.  Right now the city has a rating of six, but Little said they are working on getting it down to a four.  He said if they can reduce it by two points, O'Fallon property owners should see a reduction in insurance rates.

In 1998, the O'Fallon Volunteer Fire Department responded to 441 calls.  This number has grown substantially over that last decade and if the first five months of 1999 are any indication, it will continue to grow in the future.
[ OVFD responded to 549 calls in 1999 - ed March 2000 ]
[ OVFD responded to 639 calls in 2002 - ed January 2003 ]

Just like most well run businesses, the fire department has a plan for future growth.  In the next two years it is looking to refurbish the ladder tower truck, which would cost approximately $800,000 to replace with a new one.  Little said the cost of refurbishing the one it has would be less than half of that amount.

Little said the truck will be sent to the manufacturer and it will be returned to the city as good as new.

The department will also need to replace or update its radio system.  The current system already has problems reaching the far north end of the district and with future growth likely coming to the north a better system will be needed.

Brewer said the fire fighters will also need to increase their training in handling hazardous materials.  He said with railroad tracks running right through the middle of town it's probably only a matter of time before that type of training will need to be put to use in a real live disaster situation.

Brewer said there will probably be a need in the near future to add some full-time personnel to handle times of the day when the department traditionally has a tough time getting the manpower needed to battle fires.  Full-time personnel could also conduct inspections, oversee routine maintenance of equipment, represent the department at city, county and state meetings and handle training documentation that is required to lower ISO ratings.