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 Craftsman toolbox and portable radios. Council members and staff responded that the inventory list reflected materials supplied at the time the city took over operations and that some surplus sales had occurred under a prior chief; staff said they would pull records and follow up. Separately, the council received a quarterly operations report from the fire department that covered hiring, training, equipment maintenance and incident statistics. The report said three new hires are currently in training, two of whom have been released from preceptor supervision. The department also hired a part‑time fire inspector and is planning a more digital recruiting program to expand applicant outreach. The report described a training partnership with a private company offering three houses along Park Avenue for non–live-burn training and referenced recent live-burn and forcible-entry training at regional facilities. Facilities work was noted: the lower level of a fire station needs a hot‑water system upgrade and the department is consulting Public Works and an electrical contractor for station alerting and speaker coverage improvements. On vehicles and equipment, the department said ambulances are being cycled through state DOT inspections and routine maintenance, engines and other apparatus are scheduled for inspections and a hose‑testing program aligned to NFPA standards will start this quarter. An engine returned from warranty repairs and was reported working well. The report listed monthly call volumes and gave exact dispatch times for a residential fire at Pearl Lake on June 30: the first piece of apparatus arrived at 12:51:59, an engine at 12:52:45 and additional engines within about three minutes, according to the dispatch report the department provided. Council members agreed staff would follow up on Lloyd’s inventory questions and on the record of surplus sales under the prior chief. No formal policy change or purchase was approved at the meeting; staff indicated they would locate records and report back. Less urgent details: the department said ambulance procurement had no new updates, a radio sent for warranty work was returned, and a fire hose testing program will proceed. The council scheduled no additional action beyond staff follow up and record retrieval.