TAZEWELL COUNTY, Ill. (25 News) – The public were able to hear from trustees of the Northern Tazewell Fire Protection District about its future.
25 News reports a meeting was held Monday night, after a post from this past weekend that stated the district was planning to answer its last call on May 1st. After that date, calls will be answered by Washington and East Peoria, depending on location.
Trustees do not expect response times to suffer, since many calls are already responded to by Washington and East Peoria.
The district is not planning to dissolve, but there are plans to see the fire station building, fire engines, and equipment to Washington and East Peoria.
The all volunteer fire protection district has seen numbers decreasing in recent years. At its height decades ago, there were 40 members and a waitlist to serve. Nowadays, only eight people serve, with only one capable of responding to calls during the day.
“We’ve had help wanted on the sign out front. We put it on Facebook. It’s been in the paper. You can only put it out there so much, and when nobody answers, what do you do?” said Trustee Tom Bessler.
The fire protection district is also facing increasing costs and aging equipment, with less financial support from the state.
(Reporting by Taylor Fleming)
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