Fire department annual 2017 report presented

The Bloomfield Township Fire Department annual report for 2017 was presented at the township board of trustees meeting on Tuesday, May 29. Lt. Kevin Bailey, who presented the report to trustees, said that 2017 marked the 50th anniversary of the department in its present form, and the 40th year of the department offering Advanced Life Support (ALS). “We were one of the first fire departments in Michigan to be licensed ALS by the
state, with one newly purchased rescue truck, staffed with two brand new paramedics, servicing over 42,000 residents,” the report stated. “The department was growing, consisting of 63 employees that responded to 1471 runs that year, 663 of which were EMS.” In 2017, there were over 6,000 total runs, its highest call volume ever. “Our EMS runs in 2017 (3,105) alone surpassed the total number of runs we responded to 20 years ago (2,972),” Chief Mike Morin wrote in the report. Today, there are four separate fire stations, where the department operates a combined force of one command vehicle, three rescue trucks, two engine trucks, two ladder trucks, a special operations and rescue (SOAR) truck, a boat and 64 highly-trained firefighter/paramedics protecting over $6 billion of property. The changing world landscape has forced the township's police officers to carry Narcan with them for drug overdoses, and firefighters to wear bullet proof vests for active assailant incidents, Bailey reported. At Central Fire Station 1, located 1155 Exeter at the township's municipal government complex, Bailey reported they had 1,227 incidents in 2017, 744 which were fire-related and 483 that were medical. Fire Station 2, at 1063 Waterview, protects not only residential areas and light mercantile, but the major thoroughfares of I-75, Woodward and Square Lake. There were 1,436 incidents in 2017, 668 fire-related and 768 medical calls. Fire Station 3, at 4151 W. Maple, had 2,191 incidents last year, of which 1,074 were fire-related and 1,117 were medical calls. Fire Station 4 is located at 2389 Franklin Road. The station recorded 1,428 incidents in 2017, of which 652 were fire-related and 776 were medical runs. In addition, the the Bloomfield Township Fire Department responded to 77 hazardous materials calls in 2017, with regular firefighting crews handling a majority of the calls. The department has 13 members on its hazmat team. Training is an important and continual effort for the fire department, with Bailey noting that in 2017, the department amassed over 18,000 hours of training for its members.