Off Duty Firefighting and EMS Duties. For reasons stated below, the Village and Union agree that the Fire Chief shall prohibit Employees from performing active firefighting and/or pre-hospital EMS duties for jurisdictions operating a paid or volunteer fire department or EMS service other than the Village of Bolingbrook.
a. The provision of fire protection services and EMS services to the public is a dangerous occupation requiring highly trained, physically capable personnel using appropriate methods and equipment under the direction of experienced supervisors. As such, the performance of fire protection duties without the requisite training, methods, equipment or supervision may threaten the health and well-being of employees and the public.
b. Employees who perform fire protecting duties on a voluntary basis or as a result of outside employment are subject to increased exposure to hazardous conditions that may result in a greater incidence of illness or injury. Consequently, the performance of such duties for other municipalities or employers may have a direct bearing on employees’ ability to perform fire protection duties for the Village of Bolingbrook.
c. State statue has established a presumptive causal relationship between an employee’s fire suppression duties and certain heart and lung disabilities the employee may develop. The Village of Bolingbrook and its taxpayers are financially liable for the employee’s duty disability benefits, and must be confident that such disabilities are the result of the employee’s work for the Village of Bolingbrook and not for another secondary employer.
d. The prohibition against employees of the Bolingbrook Fire Department from performing firefighting and/or EMS duties for jurisdictions other than the Village of Bolingbrook shall be in effect upon ratification of the Agreement.
e. Employees may work for another fire department or fire district with the written approval of the Fire Chief, and such duties have been sanctioned by the International Association of Fire Fighters, The Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois and this Local
