South Beloit, IL

South Beloit contracts with Metro Paramedic Services to staff South Beloit Fire Department

A public-private partnership with Metro Paramedic Services will allow the city to staff its fire department for three years.

Adam Neblock

Jan 25, 2026 — 1 min read

Positions available for staffing the South Beloit Fire Department.

The South Beloit City Council voted 4-0 at the end of their bimonthly city council meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026, to contract with Metro Paramedic Services out of Elmhurst, Illinois, to engage in a public-private partnership for paramedic, firefighting, and fire chief services for a three-year period.

While Metro is new to South Beloit, it is not new to northern Illinois. North Park, Boone County Fire Protection District #2, and the Belvidere Fire Department employ Metro to some degree to staff their departments.

Some key details, such as how many will be employed, the cost of the contract, and when the contract will begin, have been requested by the Rockton-Roscoe News via email. We have yet to receive those responses, but will share them with the public when received.

In other fire department news, the council meeting clarified remaining staffing issues following the resignation of fire chief Scott Fisher (no relation to retired South Beloit School District Superintendent Scott Fisher). While Fisher does not owe the city any money, the city will pay his 401A (like a 401k) for 7 days.

We asked Jack Redieske, a spokesman for the Concerned Citizens of South Beloit, a group of retired/former firefighters and EMTs, about the contract with Metro, as this was an idea they proposed at a town hall meeting in late 2024. He responded that he heard the city would be hiring a Chief, three Firefighter/Paramedics, three Firefighter/EMTs, and three Firefighters. He did suggest that the city employ paid, on-call volunteers as well.