Residents, council press fire department for equipment inventory and staffing updates

A resident raised concerns about missing equipment from the South Beloit Fire Department inventory and council members and staff discussed staffing, recent hires and training during the council’s July 7 meeting. The resident asked for an updated inventory and named specific items he said were missing. The issue matters because the public expects the city to account for emergency equipment and to maintain staffing levels that keep response times reliable. Josh Lloyd, a resident, said he had been “hearing that staffing is gonna be an issue” and asked why an inventory the public was shown did not include items he believes should be there, listing SCBA cylinders, extrication tools, struts, a first responder jack, air chisels, SCBA masks, a multi-drawer…