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Firefighters press Normal council for data and a joint work session after proposed Station 2 relocation
Summary
Normal firefighters and union leaders urged the council to meet, release underlying data and consider a third‑party review after staff outlined a proposed relocation of Station 2; union speakers cited NFPA 1710 and called for a collaborative planning process.
Several representatives of Normal Firefighters Local 2442 and allied union organizations used the public‑comment period at Tuesday’s meeting to press the Town Council for meetings and access to the town’s underlying data about a proposed relocation of Fire Station Number 2.
Chris Coates, vice president of the union-affiliated association speaking at the meeting, said firefighters had attempted to arrange labor‑management conversations but had not been granted a meeting. “All we want is a seat at the table to have a frank, honest discussion on what we see as issues regarding the fire department,” Coates said during public comment.
Union leaders highlighted response‑time standards and modeling. Chuck Sullivan, president of the Associated Firefighters of Illinois, said the state and union had completed updated station‑location modeling and that staff had so far declined to meet with the union to review the results. Union members repeatedly cited NFPA 1710 as the national standard for career fire departments and advocated for restoring or maintaining response times that align with that guidance. "NFPA... the standard for a career fire department is 4 minutes," one union speaker said.
Union members and nearby residents also criticized the town’s public materials as incomplete and said they had been denied FOIA requests for the detailed data (route driving records, CAD responses, GIS call density maps, modeling assumptions) they requested. "If this decision is truly data driven, then the data should be easily accessible on the town's website," citizen Eric Hall said.
Council members responded by acknowledging the need for more data and dialogue. One council member suggested commissioning an independent third‑party study to compare the town’s analysis with the union’s community‑needs study and to examine methodology and outcomes side by side. Several other members urged a public work session to allow detailed review and discussion with union representatives before any relocation decision is finalized.
No formal decision on Station 2 was made at the meeting; council members asked staff to provide the underlying material and explore next steps, including potentially adding a study or work session to the coming calendar.
What’s next: Councilors indicated willingness to review additional data and to consider a third‑party analysis or a work session; the union requested a direct meeting with town staff to discuss modeling and coverage assumptions.
