Harlem-Roscoe Fire Department Announces Full-Time Staffing

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) – The staffing change is aimed at improving response time and training.

Starting August 1, full-time and part-time firefighters will be deployed 24/7. They hope the change will result in faster response times and more adequate staffing.

Firefighters will also benefit from more in-service training, which will help them be better prepared. They say the changes will increase opportunities for education, community involvement and safety programs.

Harlem-Roscoe Fire Chief John Bergeron said, “This is going to benefit the entire department. We’re increasing our daily staffing to nine, we’re running three ambulances 24 hours a day, so this base with our paid on-call and paid on-site personnel will allow us to get more personnel on the apparatus and get out quicker.”

The fire chief says the decision was made to retain trained employees and not lose them to another fire department.

Harlem-Roscoe Fire Department Announces Full-Time Staffing(WIFR)

“We average 15 calls a day, and we’ll probably get close to 4,000 this year. The call volume increases every year as more and more subdivisions and businesses are built in the community we serve,” Bergeron says.

On July 22 at 5:30 p.m. at Harlem-Roscoe Fire Department Station No. 3, 13974 Willowbrook Rd., Roscoe, full-time personnel will be sworn in.