Elizabeth Brewer
The Record-Eagle, Traverse City, Mich.
(TNS)

Mar. 17—TRAVERSE CITY — The East Bay Township Board of Trustees voted unanimously to take the next step in expanding Grand Traverse Metro Fire Department Station No. 9.

On Monday night during their board of trustees meeting, all of the board members agreed that a station expansion was necessary.

“It is needed, we need to have Metro out there,” Susanne Courtade said. “Our emergencies aren’t slowing down. Our need for coverage isn’t slowing down.”

The motion approved a document that would allow Cornerstone Architects authorization to proceed with the plans, budgeting for up to $7,200.

East Bay Township Supervisor Beth Friend made clear prior to the vote that the money would only go toward overseeing the bidding process and construction management, not the actual cost of the project.

These renovations follow those in 2017 and 2018, when Station 9 added their first dorm room, said East Bay Ambulance Director Nick Lemcool.

Starting March 16, there will be someone at that station 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, said Grand Traverse Metro Fire Department Chief Pat Parker.

“I know that was a long-term ask of East Bay Township to staff the station, and we got it done,” he said. “With a lot of pain, but we got it done.”

Currently there are two dorm rooms in the station — one utilized by the firefighters and the other by paramedics.

The debate between board members was about how much they should expand the station — not whether the expansion should happen.

Lemcool initially requested an additional dorm room for the station, given staffing changes.

However, trustee Glen Lile asked what would happen if there was a woman and a man on duty at the same time?

This question prompted the idea of expanding the project to two new dorm rooms.

Trustee Matt Courtade argued that all it would take was just one extra wall to make that second dorm room, and that the extra room could be utilized as an office space while they wait for more money to make more hires.

“It’s pennies on the dollar to do it now versus down the road,” he said.

Parker agreed that it would be easier to build two if the place is already going to be under construction, but emphasized that there is no room in the budget to put on a second person in Station 9.

According to Parker, Metro would have to find money in the budget to staff three more full-time positions at Station 9 to utilize that extra dorm space.

“Is that something we want to do? Absolutely,” Parker said. “But, I don’t see it in the budget now.”

Eventually, Friend said Station 9 needs even more help than just the dorm rooms, including bathrooms, the common area, the kitchen to bring it “to par level with other stations.”

This new expansion would bring the total number of dorm rooms in the station up to four, and would be paid for by East Bay Township.

The board will meet again to approve and discuss final construction costs before they begin.

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A Bayonne Fire Department vessel was damaged last month when a 189-foot barge struck the marina at the Robbins Reef Yacht, nj.com reported. That left the fire department with only one vessel. Bayonne city officials reached out for help.

North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue (NHRFR) answered that call, loaning the Bayonne Fire Department one of its fire boats, the report said. The loan is part of NHRFR’s larger, ongoing effort to strengthen mutual aid agreements in the region and ensure the safety of communities throughout Hudson County, NHRFR officials said.

Bayonne welcomed the addition of the 17-foot Boston whaler, noting that Bayonne Fire Department boats responded to 103 calls last year, including 12 water rescues and 10 calls to provide mutual aid, the report said.

Bayonne fire boat’s motor was damaged when it was struck by debris in the Feb. 15 incident in Newark Bay, the report said. A tug boat apparently lost control of the scrap barge, which ripped through the wooden pilings at the yacht club’s marina, according to the report.

There is now a plan in the works for a new fire station in Lynchburg, wset.com reported.

At Lynchburg City Council’s Tuesday work session, council members discussed plans to build a new station at the intersection of Odd Fellows Road and Liberty Mountain Road, near the roundabout, the report said.

According to the council, Liberty University will provide the land and the city will lease the station from LU. It would be a long-term lease.

Council said the need for this has increased over the last few years because of an increased volume of calls at the Lynchburg Fire Department, the report said.

According to the plan, the new station would cost $5-$7 million.

For this to happen, the city would need to finalize a lease agreement with the university, according to the report. This would require the approval of the city council and the full LU Board of Trustees. There would also need to be a budget amendment to secure funding.

The Maryville Fire Department will begin phasing in new gear aimed at being more adaptable to different types of calls, maryvilleforum.com reported.

On Monday, the Maryville City Council approved the purchase of new turnout gear for the fire department, including new multipurpose gear that is lighter and will be used on non-fire calls, the report said.

A Maryville fire official told the council that the multipurpose gear could have been used in more than about 90 percent of calls last year.

The council approved the proposal, a $15,948 contract with Heiman Fire Equipment, for the purchase of four sets each of structural turnout gear, which is replaced on a regular maintenance cycle, and multipurpose gear, which will be gradually phased in for use, according to the report.

Radio grant
Earlier this month, the fire department was awarded a $20,000 matching grant by the Missouri Department of Public Safety, the maximum allowable award, to purchase five portable radios, one mobile radio, a charger, speaker microphones and a vehicle repeater, the report said. As part of the grant, the city will kick in a matching $20,000.

The grants come from the state’s allocation of federal American Rescue Plan dollars, and the city’s matching funds will come from its own store of unallocated Rescue Plan dollars, according to the report.