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Kankakee fire chief reports aging apparatus, delayed replacements and $122,659 in bills
Summary
Fire Chief LaRoche told the Public Safety Committee the department is short four sworn firefighters, plans to add interns, reported major vehicle repairs and a 1998 aerial ladder taken out of service, and said a new aerial won’t arrive until 2027 while a grant-funded engine is expected in late 2026.
Fire Chief LaRoche updated the Kankakee City Public Safety Committee on staffing and equipment on the department's April report. “We have 47 sworn firefighters. We were down we're short 4 personnel,” LaRoche said, noting a budgeted strength of 51 and describing two part‑time interns and plans to hire an additional intern.
LaRoche reviewed bills for the month and said the fire department's bills totaled $122,658.97, which the committee approved by roll call. “We ended the fiscal year, last week. We did pretty well for our budget,” he said. The committee approved the bills by voice/roll call with aye votes recorded from Aldermen Pruf, O'Brien, Swanson, Jones and the chair.
LaRoche said the department spent substantially on vehicle repairs and that its aerial ladder (Tower 1, a 1998 model) has a cracked frame rail and has been out of service since the end of December. “The vehicle is still under warranty. The frame rails are has a lifetime warranty on them,” LaRoche said, but added that disassembling the vehicle to repair frame rails often reveals other costly ancillary repairs.
He said the city purchased a used ambulance from McHenry Township to bolster reserves and that new ambulances now cost in the range they recently saw: “The one that we just recently looked at was $328,000,” LaRoche said, adding that outfitting can push the price toward $400,000 and delivery timelines are two to three years or more. LaRoche said a new aerial ordered will likely not arrive until late 2027 and that a federally funded fire engine ordered at the same time will likely arrive in December 2026.
LaRoche described maintenance and vehicle-availability planning, noting some reserve apparatus are used regularly and are sent to service monthly. He said the department had spent material sums to keep older apparatus serviceable but acknowledged the difficulty of justifying further large repairs to near‑end‑of‑life vehicles.
On EMS and community programs, LaRoche reported the department responded to 626 calls in April, most of them medical, and that EMS collections for a prior month were reported in the packet. He described fire‑prevention work: 81 life-safety inspections, 19 smoke-detector installations and six carbon-monoxide detectors during April, and ongoing initiatives to install safety rings at river access points.
LaRoche also described a new fitness initiative for personnel — group fitness sessions with a contracted instructor intended to lower injuries and support personnel wellness — and confirmed household hazardous‑waste and community pickup plans are being scheduled for July. Committee members asked about CPR instruction in schools; LaRoche said departments provide CPR training to older high‑school students on request but that he was not aware of a state law requiring CPR instruction in all K‑12 schools.
The committee discussed next steps for apparatus planning and budgeting and will consider timing for capital purchases in future budget meetings.
