"We increased the size of the tank for interstate coverage so we have more water out there and we have a little bit of area we cover that is known as 'no-mans land' that we don't necessarily have hydrants there," explained Fire Chief Joe Holomy. At a cost of $428,000, the new pump truck was paid for in cash with $400,000 that the department saved over the last five years. The remainder came from foreign fire tax monies, which come from a 2 percent tax on out-of-state companies selling fire insurance policies in Illinois. The funds are collected and then distributed throughout the state to local fire departments each year. "There aren't a lot of frills on it," said Holomy. "It's a basic engine."

The audit reviewed the district’s purchasing procedures and employee overtime for the period from Jan. 1, 2015, to Sept. 30, 2016.

According to the union representing the fire department, some of that maintenance would be due for its buildings.

For instance, a fire station at 81st and Leavenworth had a retaining wall collapse.  About a year and a half ago, the front part of the station caved in. This is a station that KCKFD inherited from township fire stations.

At 78th and Kansas Avenue, there is a defect in the roof caused by a faulty beam. The issue could cause a roof collapse.

"It's not something we're required by law to do," Allen said. "It's like the county spending millions of dollars on the ambulance service every year. We made a decision, a moral decision as opposed to a legal decision, that we were going to do that. The same line of thinking applies to the firetrucks. It's a life safety issue and a property safety issue for the people in the rural areas to have up-to-date firetrucks that can be there for a house fire or a brush fire."  

The county began buying fire apparatus on a regular basis in the late 1970s, according to Fire Marshal Marc Trollinger. The fleet had grown to 110 vehicles of different types before the county adopted a plan to reduce the number in the fire service by purchasing combination pumper-tanker trucks. The trucks are provided to the 27 fire departments depending on need, he said.

The fire truck slammed into the white sedan at DeKalb and Wilson avenues in Bushwick around 2:30 p.m.

One person was taken to Elmhurst Hospital with minor injuries to his or her face, police said.  

It wasn't immediately known if the fire truck was responding to a call at the time.