A pair of studies analyzing Oak Park’s fire department found that the village must hire more firefighters.
Oak Park’s village government commissioned Baker Tilly to study its fire department. The report was published earlier this month, shortly after the labor union for Oak Park’s firefighters released a study it had commissioned.
Oak Park’s consulting firm submitted its report after touring fire department facilities, interviewing staffers, analyzing department statistics and surveying a few dozen firefighters. The firm’s survey found that well over 90% of Oak Park firefighters feel that the department’s staffing levels leave them overworked and impact their safety on the job.
“The survey highlights the dedication and professionalism of staff who are well-trained and have access to professional development opportunities,” the report said. “However, the survey results suggest the department is facing significant challenges related to leadership, staffing, adequate apparatus, and resource allocation. Respondents expressed a need for more proactive leadership from the department administration and consistently conveyed concerns about being understaffed and overworked, given the high call volume and the amount of overtime they were working. The survey suggests that these concerns are taking a toll on morale.”
Nearly 70% of survey respondents also said that the department’s staffing levels sometimes delay fire department response times, according to the report. The report also found that Oak Park’s yearly costs for firefighter overtime exceed $1 million each year due in part to the staffing shortage.
Other Baker Tilly recommendations include hiring a full-time deputy chief to oversee training, exploring funding for a new two-person squad vehicle and moving forward with plans to either renovate or replace OPFD’s outdated Station 2. The so-called North Station is located at 212 Augusta.
Oak Park’s village board expects to review the report at its meeting on Tuesday Oct. 14, according to the village.
Several Oak Park trustees have weighed in on the report’s findings, saying that the village must develop a strategy to address OPFD’s staffing challenges.
The village-commissioned study was published shortly after Oak Park Firefighters Local 95, the labor union that represents OPFD firefighters, released results from a study it commissioned with the International Association of Firefighters Headquarters, which also identified staffing as a major issue for the department.
“Additional staffing would make the department less reliant on mutual aid to assist with fire incidents,” the union’s study said. “It would also decrease the time to perform fireground tasks at the scene. This makes conditions safer for fire fighters and decreases the risk of injury or death to fire fighters and citizens of Oak Park.”
The union study’s recommendations included ensuring that each OPFD fire apparatus is staffed with at least 6 firefighters.
Local 95 will host a town hall meeting to share its recommendations with residents at 2 p.m. on Oct. 3 at the Oak Park Public Library on Lake Street.
“The results of the study are clear: based on national standards, the Oak Park Fire Department is insufficiently staffed and action is needed to keep pace with the demands of today’s emergencies,” the union said in a statement.
The immediate recommendation from the union study is that Oak Park should hire 9 new firefighters. That added staffing, the report said, would bring Oak Park closer to 4 firefighters per fire apparatus, up from a current level of only 3 firefighters.
“This will help ensure that when you or your family call 911, the right number of trained firefighters arrive quickly and ready to protect lives and property,” the study concluded.
According to the reports, OPFD responded to more calls for service in 2024 than it had in any year since at least 2019.
