06/24/2026
Good Morning Bethany Community! We have been monitoring Facebook and we have seen and heard your concerns. We want to clear the air on some things. This might be a lengthy post.
1. Storm Shelter- We recently put a post out about not being a storm shelter. This does not mean that if you have an emergency that you can't come up to the firehouse. There are dedicated storm shelters that are built to withstand strong winds and tornados. We do not have this. We have a metal building with a Type V (wood frame) attached building. This is not designed any more to withstand a tornado than your homes in town. There is a liability that unfortunately we do have to take into consideration. Not to mention, NO ONE should be traveling during severe weather. In the last 2 weeks, there have been severe storms that units have been dispatched. Between phone calls, lines down, personnel coming into the station, and large vehicles going in and out it is a safety concern that needs to be considered. When we say phone calls, we mean every 5 seconds a phone ringing. NO EXAGGERATION.
2. Large Room- When the District was built, it was taken into consideration to build a large room to rent out to the public to help pay the utilities. When the room was first opened, it generated a considerable amount of rental revenue to accomplish that goal. Over the years, the rentals diminished to where it was only rented 4-5 times a year. The room was closed to the public due to a change in operations, safety concerns for the public, and the ultimate deciding factor was the room was being left in poor condition, with damages to floors, walls, bathrooms being left with f***l matter on the walls and floors. F***l matter wiped under tables and chairs from assuming the same person. It got to where the District was using TAX money to pay for the repairs caused by renters. This is a disservice to our taxpayers and their taxes they pay. These funds should be used to better the services we provide, not repairing the building following irresponsible renters.
3. Operations/Department- The District faces a national crisis, which is a major decrease in volunteer membership. In the last 20 years, the culture has went from people racing to the station to try and make a first out fire truck for a fire or ambulance call. Members would RUN to the back door to beat the other. The "old" days are no longer here. Due to federal, state, and local government laws and regulations there are requirements that have to be met on training and compliance. If these are not met, the District could be cited and fined a monetary amount for non-compliance. Unfortunately, these requirements have forced retirements, or separation from the Department. If the District ignores these requirements, to keep the "old" ways then if someone gets hurt or killed, then the District, and the officers in charge of the Department could be sued for negligence as we were aware of the requirements and did not enforce them. Folks, we FEEL these requirements. We beg for people to join to better serve the community. These are not requirements put forth to make being a member more difficult. These are requirements that the State and Federal Government are passing laws requiring us to follow, regardless of size of District. It doesn't matter if it is the Chicago Fire Department, or the smallest District in the State. We all have to follow the same rules. In 2021 the Fire Chief was made full-time, due to the amount of calls. In 2023, a second person was hired full-time. October 15, 2025 the District hired a third full-time person. Why??? Due to the diminished amount of EMTs, caused by life changes, and increased requirements for initial certification and recertification the District had to decide.....Do we want an ambulance for our community or not? We have 3 paramedics, and 3 EMTs. All of which are juggling the requirements of being a volunteer, and their own personal lives. Neighboring districts do not have the staffing either, and have high volumes. They CANNOT pick up our calls. High volumes, low staffing. It is a problem everywhere. We hired the third full-time person because the two full-time people were getting burned out due to lack of personnel and not getting time with THEIR families.
Due to these unfortunate situations, we made the decision to staff our ambulance and do what we need to do to keep a vital service in this town. On October 15, 2025 we went 24/48 with the 3 full-time people. It gives a chance to our full-timers to have a life with their families, leave town and enjoy life some for themselves. This change in operation has been beneficial to so many. March 15.... March 15 our staffing saved a life by being available on a Sunday evening, and able to respond to the scene within 4 minutes.
We understand a lot of people do not understand the behind the scenes decisions that have to be made. Some very difficult to say the least. We encourage our community to come to us, ask the questions, and let us explain our decisions to you. We are full transparency and have justification to all of our changes and decisions. Our decisions are made to provide the best, and most efficient service to YOU, the taxpayer.
If there are questions, PLEASE let us answer them for you. Call the station at 217-665-3726, or email Chief Jennings at [email protected]. We OWN our vision, goals, and commitment you trust us to keep and working towards.
