Steger village officials have tabled a motion to require that all members of the volunteer fire department be subject to drug testing.
Trustee John Cashman, who sponsored the motion Monday, said giving the department the ability to conduct such tests should increase driver safety on firetrucks.
Under Cashman’s proposal, volunteer firefighters would respond as usual to a fire call. Fire department officials would randomly select some of the respondents for drug testing, while the rest of the respondents go on the call.
“If you’re driving a truck and you have an accident, you should be tested,” Village President Lou Sherman said in endorsing Cashman’s proposal.
After the meeting, Assistant Fire Chief Jeff Roesner said there have been no crashes and none of the volunteer firefighters is suspected of substance abuse. Roesner said Cashman’s proposal simply would enable the department to apply the same drug and alcohol standards the village applies to public works employees.
But Village Atty. Franklin Burkey warned the Village Board that extending municipal alcohol and drug policy to include volunteer firefighters might cause unforeseen problems. “What if you suddenly have very few firemen showing up?”
Burkey acknowledged municipal employees who plow snow are required to not drink, but noted they generally have a warning that snow is coming. “With fire calls, you just never know. It puts a fellow in a little bit of a trick bag,” he said.