Excerpts from Record-Eagle.com:
The Grand Traverse Metro Fire Department's board recently approved a new policy that will charge neighboring fire departments between $1,000 and $5,000 for every two-hour period their trucks spend responding to fires outside of the three member townships: Acme, East Bay, and Garfield. The decision came after a significant imbalance in mutual aid efforts—Metro provided support 25 times last year, while only receiving help five times.
"Mutual aid should be a two-way street," said Metro Fire Chief Pat Parker. "But according to the numbers, we haven't really seen much in return." This shift in policy is aimed at ensuring fairness and sustainability in resource sharing across the county.
Grand Traverse County uses a box-response system, where the area is divided into 80 geographic zones. Each zone has pre-assigned response teams based on the severity of the incident. A first alarm is triggered initially, and larger incidents escalate to second, third, or fourth alarms depending on the level of need.
Under the new policy, Metro will charge $1,000 for the first two hours of a second-alarm call, $5,000 for a third-alarm, and $2,500 for a fourth-alarm. After the initial two hours, the rate increases to $2,500 per hour. Additionally, the board voted to reassign some boxes so that Metro won’t be called for first-alarms outside its three townships.
"Many first-alarms are just for investigating a small fire," Parker explained. "There’s no need for us to send our crews out. A well-established department should be able to handle those calls on their own."
Parker also pointed out that one reason Metro is often called for first-alarms is because they operate 24/7, while not all surrounding townships offer the same level of service. "We believe in providing a high level of readiness, but it doesn’t make sense to offer that without compensation," he said. "I think we’ll see more changes coming soon throughout the county."
The policy was passed on December 22 with a close 3-2 vote. East Bay Township Trustee Beth Friend, chair of the fire board, noted that while everyone agreed to start charging for mutual aid, there were some disagreements over the specifics. She also mentioned that Blair Township already charges for mutual aid and maintains good relationships with its neighbors.
"We expect other jurisdictions that don’t currently charge to follow suit," Friend said. "We welcome that change and hope it leads to a more balanced system."
Grand Traverse Rural Fire, which received 12 mutual aid calls—mostly from Whitewater Township—is likely to feel the biggest impact from this new policy. Blair Township, which gave aid twice and received it seven times this year, may adjust accordingly. Meanwhile, Traverse City received aid five times but only returned it once.
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