By MES Dispatch staff
The Briefing
• The Harvey Fire Department in Illinois has depended heavily on mutual aid from neighboring departments after laying off about half its firefighters amid a fiscal crisis.
• Budget cuts in October 2025 led to furloughs affecting about 40% of city staff, including firefighters, and additional layoffs later that year.
• Surrounding departments, including Dolton, Hazel Crest and Riverdale, have responded to dozens of emergency calls in Harvey.
• Mutual aid has included responses through the Illinois Mutual Aid Box Alarm System but Harvey has been limited in reciprocating help.
HARVEY, IL — The Harvey Fire Department has increasingly relied on mutual aid from neighboring fire departments after a series of layoffs reduced its staffing to significantly below recommended levels, officials and records show.
In October 2025, facing a declared fiscal crisis, the city furloughed about 40% of its workforce, including roughly half of the fire department, and subsequently laid off additional firefighters, leaving some shifts staffed by as few as three personnel.
To maintain emergency response coverage, departments from Dolton, Hazel Crest and Riverdale have answered multiple calls in Harvey through the Illinois Mutual Aid Box Alarm System, with dozens of responses recorded between October and early May.
Not all mutual aid activations resulted in units working on scene; some were canceled while en route, according to documents obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests.
Harvey city officials said support from neighboring municipalities has helped the community manage fire and emergency calls while the city continues to navigate its fiscal challenges.