Fire Department Upgrades Provide Faster Response Times

Barrington residents can rely on faster response times by firefighters and paramedics.

The Barrington Countryside Fire Protection Trustees recently commissioned an in-depth analysis and review on response times and dispatch protocols. They found that by upgrading the in-house alarm system at each station, the fire department could reduce response times by up to 30 seconds in emergency situations.

Thirty seconds may not seem like much, but in many cases, it could mean life or death.

“Statistics demonstrate that structural fires that burn for six minutes or more usually result in complete loss,” Illinois Fire Chiefs Association Executive Director Robert Buhs said. “In medical emergency situations where a patient has stopped breathing, the odds of brain damage increase greatly after just four minutes.”

The dispatch data will continue to be monitored over the next three months to make sure things are working properly and prove to be effective.

 The fire department’s research shows that response times can be improved even more in the district’s far-eastern section with additional upgrades. The fire department plans to implement these equipment and procedural upgrades by April.