During the Cicero Town Council meeting Tuesday evening, the Cicero Town Council unanimously voted against extending the agreement for providing Advanced Life Support (ALS) services to White River Township.
The members of the council felt that continuing to provide these services was placing too great of a financial and logistical strain on the Cicero Fire Department. Of specific concern was the fact that responding to emergency calls in White River Township often results in all of the Cicero Fire Department’s personnel being sent to an out of town location. This may result in no one from the Cicero Fire Department being available to handle emergency / 911 calls for the citizens of Cicero that may arise during this time. In such instances, the town is dependent on neighboring departments to respond to calls for assistance in handling fires or medical emergencies in Cicero.
As every second matters in an emergency, the members of the town council did not feel this was acceptable as they each stated that protecting the residents of the Town of Cicero must be the department’s first and foremost priority.
The provision of ALS services to White River Township will not cease immediately. Rather, the Cicero Fire Department will continue to provide emergency services to White River Township residents for the first 180 days of 2018. This will enable White River Township to have time to get another ALS provider in place.
In the interim, both the Cicero Town Council and the Cicero Fire Department stated that they would work with White River Township and the White River Township Volunteer Fire Department to ensure a smooth transition.