Excerpts from Record-Eagle.com:
The Grand Traverse Metro Fire Department's board has implemented a new policy that will charge neighboring fire departments between $1,000 and $5,000 for every two-hour period that a Metro fire truck is dispatched outside the boundaries of Acme, East Bay, and Garfield townships. The decision comes after a significant imbalance in mutual aid support: Metro provided assistance 25 times to surrounding departments last year, while only receiving help five times.
"Mutual aid should be a two-way street," said Metro Fire Chief Pat Parker. "But based on the numbers, we haven't seen much in return."
The county operates under a box-response system, where it's divided into 80 geographic zones. When an emergency occurs, the appropriate fire department is called based on the incident's severity. A first alarm is typically triggered by an initial call, with additional alarms escalating as more resources are needed.
Metro will now charge $1,000 for the first two hours during a second alarm, $5,000 for a third alarm, and $2,500 for a fourth. After the initial two hours, the rate increases to $2,500 per hour. Additionally, the board has voted to reassign some boxes so that Metro no longer responds to first alarms outside the three core townships.
"Many first alarms are just for investigating a small fire," Parker explained. "It’s not necessary for us to send our crews out. A well-established fire department should be able to handle those calls on their own."
Parker noted that one reason Metro is often called for first alarms is due to its 24/7 staffing model, which not all neighboring townships have. "There's a level of readiness that our townships are paying for, and giving that service away for free doesn’t feel right," he added. "I think we're going to see more changes across the county soon."
The policy was approved on December 22 with a 3-2 vote. East Bay Township Trustee Beth Friend, who chairs the fire board, said there was general agreement on charging, but some debate over the details. She mentioned that Blair Township already charges for mutual aid and maintains good relations with its neighbors, and she expects other departments to follow suit.
Grand Traverse Rural Fire received 12 mutual aid requests, mostly from Whitewater Township, and is likely to be most affected by the new policy. Blair Township, which gave aid twice and received it seven times this year, and Traverse City, which received aid five times and returned it once, are also part of the ongoing dynamic.
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