By Mike Nolan
Daily Southtown
ORLAND PARK, Ill. — Firefighters in Orland Park and the president of the Orland Fire Protection District Board are at odds over whether paramedic service and response times in the district have suffered since an ambulance was taken out of service early last month.
The ambulance had operated on 12-hour shifts since mid-October of last year, according to the district.
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Board President Beth Damas Kaspar, in a statement Tuesday, insisted that in reviewing data since the ambulance was taken offline, paramedic services have not suffered and the ambulance “is not needed to maintain the excellent services provided by the District.”
Orland Professional Firefighters, the union representing firefighters, insists the president is wrong, and said the ambulance taken out of service had covered the “busiest area of Orland” and that there is a “dire need for additional ambulance staffing.”
Along with providing fire response and paramedic service in Orland Park and Orland Hills, the 33-square-mile district also covers areas of unincorporated Orland Township.
Kaspar said while the ambulance operated on 12-hour shifts since the middle of last October, the 12-hour shift operation was not meant to be permanent.
“It was put in operation as trial for those specific hours, not full-time, to evaluate if its operation was essential for the District to maintain the high standard of services to its residents,” Kaspar said.
The ambulance was taken out of service June 6, and the district received notice June 11 from the Illinois Department of Public Health that the district either needed to operate the ambulance full-time or place it in reserve status, Kaspar said.
She said given the short time frame in which the state gave the district to decide, it was decided to take the ambulance out of operation entirely and place it in reserve.
She said the district is submitting a waiver to the public health department that would allow the district to return to operating the ambulance as it had prior to last October.
The firefighters union, in a July 18 Facebook post, said the union was attempting to have the ambulance reinstated, but that Kaspar “has not moved on the decision to limit emergency medical services to tax-paying residents.”
The union said that, from Jan. 1 to June 1 of this year, 23% of all district ambulance calls were handled by Ambulance 1, the unit taken out of service, “making it the busiest ambulance in service during that timeframe.”
The union said the district is overspending on things such as legal services, public relations and consulting.
Citing district treasurer reports, the union said the district spent a bit more than $242,000 on consultants for the period October 2024 to this past May, while the overtime necessary to staff Ambulance 1 amounted to a bit more than $164,000.
This spring’s election for fire district trustee brought nine candidates vying for two six-year terms and one unexpired two-year term.
Kaspar, an incumbent, won election as did board trustee Donald “DJ” Jeffers, both gaining new six-year terms and Bridget Tolan winning the two-year seat.
In the weeks leading up to the April 1 election, officials, including Tinley Park fire Chief Steve Klotz, had to slap down persistent rumors the Tinley and Orland fire agencies were studying a merger of operations.
At one point, Klotz wrote a column on the Tinley Park village Facebook page in an attempt to put the rumor to rest.
“At no time was there any thought of the two departments becoming one, nor would such a merger be beneficial to either department,” the chief wrote.
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