The station closed down in October of last year, and should be completed in early 2018. The total cost of the project is estimated to be $6.1 million.

In the meantime, firefighters and their vehicles have ben moved to other stations nearby. Engine 16 has been relocated to Station 51 at 218 Lincoln Blvd, and Truck 16 was relocated to Station 10 at 655 Presidio Ave.

"It's pretty exciting," said Chief Bernie Sebold of the Alton Fire Department. "Things are going well. We're getting closer, but we are not quite there yet. If we are fortunate, it will start by April 1. If it all falls into place sooner, it will be before April 1. It's the software driving the implementation date. The biggest, most time-consuming part is the software installation." The new software, once in place, will combine fire reporting and patient care reporting in one web-based program for efficiency. Some agencies have separate reporting software for fire and medical calls. "It simplifies it from the administrative end," he said of the combination. "I can pull it out for statistical evaluation, response time and transportation time on scenes so I can look at it to improve the response model." Firefighters will be able to input the patient information on computer tablets in the trucks, then transfer it to the in-house computer system through secure means. "There will be no paper to contend with," Sebold said. He still is entering data in the system, including names of all the streets in Alton and AFD personnel. Related to the software, is creating patient forms. "We have to get all of our forms in place for consent to treat and the HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) compliant notice of privacy" that patients sign that will have a signature capture on the tablets, he said. "We will work with the Alton Police Department on dispatching when the service does go live, as the protocol will change." Early on, Sebold said he wanted to begin running ambulances on April 1, the start of the city's 2017-18 fiscal year. The public may be seeing the two trucks with their brand-new reflective decals and lettering cruising the streets of Alton, but the firefighters are not yet going on emergency medical runs in the ambulances. At this point, the firefighters are familiarizing themselves with operating the vehicles, location of equipment the trucks are carrying and the two local hospital emergency department drive-up entrances.

The woman who was being transported in the ambulance was taken to a hospital via another ambulance "with no evidence of harm from the collision," Humphrey said.

The driver of the car involved in the collision complained of "wrist discomfort" but was not transported for hospital treatment, he said, and a paramedic in the ambulance suffered a head cut.

Fire Chief Paul Linnertz said there are parts from the old trucks in great shape that can be reused on the new trucks. That could save the city hundreds of thousands of dollars.

"A fire truck sits in a fire station a great deal of its time, thankfully," Linnertz said. "We can reuse those components and that's what we're planning on doing. We're going to take the components from this truck, ship them to the manufacturer and they're going to put them on the new vehicle that they build."

Linnertz said industry standards changed so the useful life of the vehicles went down from 20 to 15 years. The funding has to be approved by the Syracuse Common Council. Councilor Steven Thompson said while he knows it seems like it may cost the city a lot, he agrees with Linnertz' plan to buy two new trucks now then one new truck every other year.

The new trucks will ensure the Syracuse Fire Department keeps its top level rating, which gives significant insurance savings to commercial properties in the city.

Mohr wants the City Council to consider including the new fire station and renovation of several others in the city's proposed five-year capital improvements plan.

The city's proposed five-year capital improvement plan identifies $336.58 million in capital needs for all city departments, including $59.90 million with secured funding and $276.68 million without. The council, which has been hearing presentations from all of its department heads for weeks now, will not finalize the citywide plan until March.

"We're looking at building a station, and I hate to even bring up the fact that we've got this station that was built out west on Six Points and it isn't staffed," added Mohr, referring to Station 5 at 2602 Six Points Road, which was built in 2008-09 at a cost of $3 million but has never been occupied because development expected out there never happened.

"That is not where our need is for our community," said Mohr. "The need is in the northeast because we have excessive travel distance to much of that area."

From Fire Station No. 6 at Central Illinois Regional Airport at 4040 E. Oakland Ave. and Fire Station No. 3 at 2301 E. Empire St. travel distance is more than six minutes and nearly eight minutes to some northeast locations, said Mohr.

"If you're shooting for the six-minute response time (set by the National Fire Protection Association) you have to add in one minute for turnout (preparing to leave the fire station) and one minute for dispatching. So we're running upwards of 11 to 12 minutes to some of those locations."

Planning includes spending $500,000 in the upcoming fiscal year to acquire land at a site not yet determined for the new fire station; $280,051 for architectural design fees in fiscal year 2020; and $2.5 million for construction in fiscal year 2021.

"Our operational budget also would have to be increased in order to staff that station," Mohr said. "We would have to have all of that approved before we would construct such a facility."

Mohr also wants funding to address the aging infrastructure and inadequate heating, ventilation and cooling systems at some of the city's five operating fire stations.