Oak Park trustees receive two conflicting fire‑department studies as board weighs hiring 6–9 firefighters and station upgrades

IAFF Local 95 and an independent consultant gave Oak Park trustees sharply different road maps for the village’s fire operations on Oct. 14, setting the issue up as a major budget decision for fiscal 2026.

The union (IAFF Local 95) presented a study it commissioned through the International Association of Firefighters and argued Oak Park’s current deployment — three firefighters per apparatus and a 16‑person daily minimum — falls short of national safety standards. "To meet the industry standards you should staff all fire apparatus with a minimum of four firefighters," Local 95 President Robert Toth said, citing NFPA 1710 and OSHA 1910, and recommended hiring nine firefighters (three per shift) to reduce overtime, meet OSHA "two‑in/two‑out" safety rules and improve on‑scene capability.

The village’s independent assessment from Baker Tilly urged a more measured, fiscally cautious path. Baker Tilly consultant Steve Tolar told trustees the short‑term cost to raise minimum staffing to four per apparatus would be about $2.3 million in recurring personnel costs; a longer‑term push toward six per apparatus plus a new engine would add several million more in annual operating costs and roughly $10–15 million in one‑time capital to replace or reconfigure apparatus. "That $2.3 million is the short‑term piece," Tolar said. "The long‑term proposal could approach $7–8 million depending on how you phase it."

Why the disagreement

The union’s study emphasized firefighter safety in a densely populated village that averages roughly 11,600 people per square mile and includes high‑rise and garden‑apartment exposures, citing example incidents where response staffing was far below NFPA guidance. IAFF data analyst Adam Smith showed maps and response‑coverage models that, the union said, would improve substantially with the extra firefighter on each rig.

Baker Tilly accepted NFPA as a "gold standard," but stressed that strict adherence to every NFPA 1710 staffing metric can be cost‑prohibitive and depends on policy decisions about the level of service the village wants to guarantee. Consultant Carol Jacobs recommended targeted investments that Baker Tilly judged achievable now — e.g., a full‑time training officer, better recruitment and an internal service fund for apparatus replacement — while collecting more data before committing to sweeping changes.

Trustees’ response and next steps

Several trustees expressed support for adding staff in the coming budget but differed on scale. Multiple board members said they could support hiring somewhere between six and nine firefighter‑paramedics as a reasonable compromise while staff fills current vacancies and tests recruitment strategies. "I support increasing staffing to nine per the Local 95 study," Trustee Jenna Loving Jacobson said, while acknowledging hiring challenges. Others cautioned that the village must weigh recruiting feasibility and long‑term fiscal impact before committing to mandatory minimum‑manning increases.

Chief J.T. Terry and staff emphasized operational constraints at Station 2 (a century‑old facility that cannot house another vehicle without rebuilding) and the operational need for any additional command/leadership staff if company size grows. Baker Tilly recommended phasing upgrades, adding training capacity, and evaluating unit‑hour utilization and mutual‑aid patterns before setting a new minimum manning policy.

What the board asked staff to provide

Trustees directed staff to include the fire‑study recommendations and Baker Tilly’s fiscal analysis in the FY26 budget materials and return with supplemental data: a time series of worker‑comp claims overlaid with overtime, updated response times, unit‑hour utilization statistics, the operational impact of a squad vehicle option, and a timeline and cost estimate for Station 2 options. The board formally "received" the Baker Tilly report to place it on the record; no hiring appropriation was approved at the meeting.

Key quotes

"This study was conducted at no cost to the village or its taxpayers," IAFF Local 95 President Robert Toth said of the union‑commissioned analysis.

"We're talking about $2.3 million on an annual basis for the short‑term proposal," Baker Tilly's Steve Tolar said, framing the budgetary tradeoffs.

What happens next

Staff will fold the consultants' recommendations and the new data trustees requested into the village manager’s budget proposal and a long‑range financial plan for board consideration. Trustees signaled urgency about recruitment and asked staff to pursue year‑round hiring strategies and grants to help offset capital and operating impacts.