Excerpts from MySuburbanLife.com:

Chief Tony Huemann of the McHenry Township Fire Protection District once dreamed of rushing into a burning building. That dream came true many times over the course of his long career. However, as fire safety technology has improved and the demand for emergency medical services has grown, such dramatic firefighting moments have become increasingly rare.
The role of a firefighter today is evolving. While the title may still suggest fire suppression, the reality is that more time is spent responding to medical emergencies. According to Huemann, any new firefighter must now be trained as a paramedic and often hold a higher level of education than in years past. This shift also means more frequent training to keep skills sharp—even if they're not used as often as before.

In the Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District, EMS calls have consistently outnumbered fire responses since at least 2001. In 2001, medical calls made up 53% of total responses, but by 2012, that number had risen to 68%. Meanwhile, fire calls dropped from 47% to 32% during the same period.

Crystal Lake’s fire and rescue department, which merged its fire and EMS services in 1980, saw a significant increase in medical calls. Last year, they responded to nearly twice as many EMS calls as in 2000, while fire calls dropped from 169 in 2003 to just 56 in 2014.

This trend isn’t unique to local departments. According to the National Fire Protection Association, fire calls nationwide decreased by 58.5% between 1980 and 2013, while emergency medical calls surged by 323% in the same timeframe.

“We’re becoming much safer when it comes to fires,” said Kenneth Willette, manager of the association’s public fire protection division. “Modern fire codes in commercial and industrial buildings require better fire prevention and suppression systems, which have significantly reduced the number of fires.”

The aging population is also playing a key role in shaping the future of firefighting. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts a 7% growth in firefighter employment from 2012 to 2022, driven largely by the increased need for emergency medical care among seniors.

Woodstock Fire Chief Ralph Webster acknowledged that the changing nature of the job is prompting officials to rethink resource allocation. “We’re looking at shifting some personnel to focus more on emergency medical calls and reducing the number of resources dedicated to fire apparatus,” he said. “Our job has changed, and we need to adapt accordingly.”

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