Tri-Township Fire Protection District trustees have given the green light for an automatic mutual aid agreement between their fire crews and the Quincy Fire Department.
Under a proposal that has been discussed for more than a month, Tri-Township and Quincy fire crews would respond to structural fires in an agreed area to give quicker response times for both departments.
Mayor Kyle Moore said it might take another week or two for the agreement to come up for a vote before the Quincy City Council. Before it does, Moore wants to meet with Quincy Fire Chief Joe Henning and individual aldermen to discuss the future of the city's fire protection system.
"I want to get a clear direction from the council," Moore said.
Henning said the agreement will be good for both departments. On the east side of town, Tri-Township, which has a station on 54th Street, would respond to structure fires even if they were in the city and generally east of 24th Street.
City crews also would respond to structure fires outside city limits but within 5 miles of its fire stations to help Tri-Township. Quincy fire units will be especially helpful to the southwest and northwest of the city because of the relatively long driving distances for Tri-Township firetrucks.
Tri-Township Fire Chief Rick Zaerr said the district has a population of about 12,000 in Riverside, Ellington and Melrose townships.