Fire Protection
We are members of the Madison County Fireman’s Assn. and the Illinois Assn. of Firefighters. We proudly serve the Hamel Fire Protection District, a mostly rural area covering approx 50 sq miles and home to more than 3500 residents. Within the district, there are three state highways and 10 miles of Interstate Highway. We respond to a multitude of incidents from structure fires to motor vehicle accidents to hazardous material incidents to general service calls, averaging just over 200 calls for service per year. We are a 100% volunteer department, composed of 26 firefighters led by Fire Chief Chris Haarmann with over 15 years of experience in the fire service. We are commanded by a Fire Chief, two Assistant Chiefs, two Captains, and two Lieutenants. Our governing body is made up of three Trustees appointed to four year terms. We are a progressive department, training on tasks such as wilderness search and rescue and extensive vehicle extrication training. We have modern equipment, including the latest extrication and rescue equipment. Over 75% of our calls, as with most fire departments, are EMS and Rescue
Photo Gallery: https://www.facebook.com/HamelFirePD/photos/
Emergency Medical Services
Our EMS response is supplemented by the Alhambra-Hamel Ambulance Service. The service is a 24 hour a day Paramedic ambulance service and functions as a division of the Anderson Hospital Emergency Medical Services system, in Region 4A. This is a fire district ambulance service funded by the taxes of the Alhambra and Hamel Fire Protection Districts, and responds to emergency calls in both with 2 Advanced Life Support ambulances. This service is one of the most agressive and cutting edge in the Anderson Hospital System, being one of the first in the system to offer 12 Lead EKG analysis in the field, something once only offered in emergency rooms. This service also maintains some of the newest and most advanced products for pre-hospital patient care.
In critical situations, they can call upon the ARCH air medical services for 24-hour a day medical air ambulance service. ARCH helicopter is utilized for incidents such as serious car crashes, serious traumatic injuries, and serious medical emergencies when the care of the patient demands a higher level of medical care than offered by local hospitals. ARCH transports from the scene or from the local hospitals to the St. Louis area hospitals.
Firefighter/EMT’s and firefighter/paramedics from the Hamel Fire Dept. have a great working relationship with and are frequently call upon to assist the crews of the ambulance on emergency calls and to cover shifts if needed.
The Alhambra-Hamel Ambulance service also provides continuing education classes for the fire departments in the surrounding areas, as well as Emergency Medical Technician – Basic level courses for the general public. Check out this website for upcoming classes.
E-911
The Hamel Fire Dept. is dispatched via an Enhanced 911 service provided by the Madison County Sheriff’s Department, located in Edwardsville. This dispatching system presently only displays a name and call-back number after receiving a 911 call. Soon, all calls made to the E911 center will be recieved through a new, state-of-the-art dispatching system. The new system, presently being converted to, will not only display name and call-back number, but will also display a map with the location of the home, advance notification information automatically (such as elderly persons, hazardous materials, prior incidents, etc), more accuratly confirm locations of cellular calls, and will send a map and directions directly to the fire houses via modem printer.
154.995 Fireground
155.265 Statewide Mutual Aid