Lake Considering Merging Emergency Services

    Lake County could be on the cusp of combining its fire and EMS services. The Lake County Commission on Tuesday voiced support for a study that could begin as soon as next month and lead to the eventual melding of the two county emergency response agencies to one.
    The prospect of merging emergency systems was part of a broader discussion held by the commission on Tuesday. Facing shortages of staffing in its ambulance services, the commission is eyeing sign-on bonuses, extra pay, and more to increase response levels in the county.
    Staff shortages are combining with increased call volume to place EMS under significant operational pressure, to the point that the county is also considering a program that could see it supply ambulances to cities for municipal fire stations to operate. It’s all part of handling a call volume that is currently 60% over last year.
    Longer term, the county is considering an overall revamping of its emergency response, bringing its two responding units into one. Such a program has already been tested in Astor and Pine Lakes, where Lake County Fire Rescue staff operate both the fire and ambulance responses.
    “Let’s take the next step,” said commission chair Sean Parks in supporting the study, which will be mostly funded by a grant.
    Commissioner Leslie Campione, part of a unanimous approval for the study, voiced agreement.
    “A study is probably long overdue.”