LONG CREEK, Ill. (WAND) — Following an incredibly contentious meeting, the Long Creek Fire Protection District Board of Trustees voted to cancel the LCFPD Ambulance Services, effective immediately.
The Board entered an impromptu executive session to discuss the fate of the service. Following the vote, newly-appointed Board of Trustees President Chris Schroth resigned after he voted to keep the service.
The department launched the service Jan. 1, 2025, and since then, they say they have answered 537 emergency calls and transported 461 patients. They say they maintained an average response time of 4 minutes and 34 seconds.
The LCFPD released a statement in November 2024 announcing their intention to form their own ALS service due to what they described as a "catastrophic failure" of the current EMS provider for Decatur and Macon County, Abbot EMS.
In response to their concerns, Abbott EMS Regional Director Brian Gerth said their organization had faced a series of challenges that made it difficult to maintain adequate staffing.
Some trustees said an ordinance within the Village of Long Creek determined that the fire protection district can only provide fire protection services, not ambulance services. They said that it was rushed into and should have been a referendum on the ballot to also allocate money to pay for the service, as they are now deeply in the red.Â
Copyright 2025 WAND TV. All rights reserved.Â
