"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.

The idea began in 2014 with the master plan study. No surprise to CAFD, as they had outgrown the current station.

Then, to the surprise of many, in 2015 Jarden Home Brands offered to donate 13.2 of their 38 acres of land to the fire department to build a new station.

The land acquisition was delayed when Jardan merged with Rubbermaid in the spring of 2016. In October, after the two business finalized merging, the process was again able to move forward.

The land is buildable, has enough room to expand at a later date if needed, the location is central and the new building will take care of all of CAFD's space issues. The location also has "awesome" access in all directions, according to Chief Kevin Schroeder.

"We need to maintain a four-minute or less response to the downtown area and all of the industries," Schroeder said.

Schroeder said the final signatures on the property sale should be written early this year. The only cost to CAFD for the land will be closing costs.

"Jarden has been fantastic to make this opportunity available to us," Schroeder said.

Training is currently done at Station 2 in Scanlon because there isn't enough space at Station 1 on Cloquet Avenue. There have been times training has been in session at Scanlon when a call came in. Firefighters have had to drive back to Station 1 to get the proper equipment before they could respond to the call.

"It would be time saving to have everything on site," Schroeder admitted. "The building we are working in is outdated and outsized."

The Station 1 building was built in 1967 and remodeled in 1990 when CAFD moved in.

"When we moved in, it was already full," Schroeder said.

Equipment is currently stored between two fire stations and three storage buildings. The Perch Lake station was built in 1986 and functions well. The Scanlon station is a renovated school building. CAFD rents space at the Scanlon station for their office, equipment and two tanker trucks.