Somewhere in the pile of creative thinking known as “the blogs” it was suggested that, if three firefighters should really be laid off, perhaps the fire station closest to campus (#3) could be closed during the summer session when most of NIU is gone.
Though I don’t think I wrote this down anywhere, it’s been clear to me from the start — and confirmed today — that if a station were to close due to layoffs, it would be Station 2 on South 7th Street.
Here’s why. Station 2 is way too small and outdated. In fact I think I heard it was originally built as a temporary solution to southside coverage. When they finally build the new station over by Schnuck’s they will probably not keep #2 open. (They may not tear it down, either, because of the effect of asbestos issues on the cost of demolition.)
When a train clogs up Lincoln at least Station 3 vehicles can barrel along Annie Glidden unimpeded to the southwest side but trying to get trucks from Station 1 to the southeast is obviously problematic. Perhaps they could at least leave an ambulance at #2. There are a lot of elderly people in my neighborhood.
This is also one area of town where I guarantee nobody has been getting annual raises of 4% for quite some time.