Voters in will be asked on the March 2026 primary election ballot for their permission to consolidate three fire departments into one.
The advantage, city officials say, should be faster response times, easier recruitment, and tax dollar savings.
In the meantime, Cahokia Heights Mayor Curtis McCall worked with members of the Cahokia, Camp Jackson and Alorton fire departments on intergovernmental agreements to temporarily bring the three units under one roof immediately. They鈥檒l go back to three separate departments if voters reject the referendum next spring.
The newly formed Cahokia Heights Fire Department was launched officially on May 19 with 27-year veteran Stephen Robbins as its chief.
鈥淭his is a unique situation. I have worked on a lot of consolidation, but this one is different where the combined fire department is being created ahead of the legislation,鈥� said Alton attorney Jim Sinclair, who assisted in the writing of the intergovernmental agreements. 鈥淚t is being done to make sure there is a good and stronger fire service in the area.鈥�
Cahokia Heights City Attorney Jordan Augustine worked with McCall and the police department officials to draft an agreement they say required great compromise. But after 鈥減utting their egos aside,鈥� Robbins said, all agreed consolidation will be the most efficient and effective way to keep citizens safe.
鈥淭his combination will give them more people available to respond to calls. There should be better response times to calls. It also gives you a larger organization to recruit people to come to the fire service,鈥� said Sinclair. 鈥淭his is not a career service. These are part-time and volunteer people.
鈥淭he other side of it is money 鈥� trying to establish a tax base so they can generate their funds through the tax levy that will support this fire service organization and enable it to provide good service.鈥�
McCall said the idea of a consolidation originally was conceived in 2021, which is when Alorton, Cahokia and Centreville merged into the City of of voters in the two former villages and one city. Merging public safety units was an easy sell to members of the city council, he said.
鈥淎ll of the fire districts were their own taxing bodies and all of them were struggling to get taxing money,鈥� he said. 鈥淪ome brought in $30,000, some brought in $375,000, and they all were hurting for manpower. This is simply the best option to maximize our money, manpower and ability to respond to fires faster and more efficiently.鈥�
Robbins said recruiting volunteer firefighters has been an issue nationwide for decades. According to the National Fire Protection Association, the number of volunteer firefighters reached an all-time low in 2020 with a 6% decline from the prior year. The numbers have remained mostly flat since then, but the population has continued to increase, the study noted.
What鈥檚 more, the percentage of firefighters over the age of 50 also is rising nationwide, according to the same survey.
The Cahokia Heights consolidation, Robbins said, will afford him a more focused recruitment effort across a broader area. McCall also said he will propose to the city council a plan to pay current city employees a stipend for joining the fire department.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to have the opportunity to bring in more manpower and get new equipment to better serve the people,鈥� Robbins said. 鈥淚t has never been done before in our area, so a lot of eyes will be looking at us. I am going to do everything I can to make sure we get this right and we become one of the best departments around.鈥�
Robbins has 27 years in total in firefighting and 14 as chief of the Cahokia Fire Department.
Editor's note: This story was originally published by the . Carolyn P. Smith is a reporter for the BND, a news partner of 漏 2024 外网天堂.
