In an “historic” move that could trigger a transformation in how small suburban municipalities deliver emergency services, Calumet Park has outsourced its fire department to a private contractor in an effort to cut costs, village attorney Burt Odelson said.
The board voted unanimously Nov. 8 to approve a separation agreement with its firefighters union and to enter into a five-year contract with Kurtz Ambulance Service to provide fire suppression and ambulance services to the village, he said. “This will be the wave of the future,” said Odelson, who previously spearheaded a push to privatize fire services in North Riverside that was overturned by the Illinois Labor Relations Board.
He said he wasn’t aware of another municipality in Cook County that had contracted with a private company to provide fire suppression services, but believed others would soon follow Calumet Park’s lead.