Department officials say Madison Township’s fire department needs to replace its aging stations, equipment, and add staff, and voters will decide on May 3 whether to support a 3-mill, five-year levy that will cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $100 more a year, according to a report in journal-news.com.

The levy would generate about $850,000 a year, if passed. If it fails, the township will be forced to cut personnel from its emergency services, the report notes.

Officials say the township used to be served by about 60 volunteer firefighters, but that number has dwindled to around 45, which includes part-time EMS.

Even if it comes to staff reduction, the three stations—Station 152, a former schoolhouse, on Middletown Germantown Road, built in 1850; Station 151, at 4398 Elk Creek Rd., built in 1950; and the life squad at Ohio 122 and Mosiman Road, built in 1999—will need to be replaced.

The last two fire levies in the township passed in 2010 and 1979, the report notes.

Sutphen—Strongsville (OH) Fire Department SPH 100 aerial platform quint. Monarch cab and chassis; Cummins X12 500-hp engine; Hale Qmax 1,500-gpm pump; UPF Poly 500-gallon water tank; SmartPower 10-kW generator; 100-foot aerial platform; stainless-steel body; FRC LED scene lights. Dealer: Bob Jones, Herb Fire Equipment, Powell, OH.

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Johnson County Fire District 1 recently hosted a hose uncoupling ceremony for its new home, Station 81.

Station 81, located in the Intermodal District of Edgerton, has been in service since February 15.

“This new station will continue to provide better fire protection and emergency medical services for not only the visitors who travel in and out of the Logistics Park for work or business, but it will also enhance the services we already provide for the City of Gardner, KS, City of Spring Hill, KS, New Century Air Center, and the Townships that are within the boundaries of Fire District #1 by adding more on-duty personnel,” a Facebook post reads.

“This new station currently houses one of the two on-duty Battalion Chiefs, a new mid-mount Aerial, Brush Truck, ATV, Tender, and a Johnson County MED-ACT Squad. This Station is also home to our Administrative staff which is housed on the East side of the Station while the West side of the Station houses our emergency services personnel.”

Two ground-breaking ceremonies are planned for this week for fire stations in the Williamsburg area, reports peninsulachronicle.com.

On Tuesday at 3 p.m., a ceremony will be held in York County at the future site of Station 7, which will be located at 5684 Mooretown Rd.

The county’s renovating a building that once housed the Crossroads Community Youth Home for station use—serving locals and tourists and providing assistance to fire teams in Williamsburg and James City County, the report says. It’s slated for a late 2023 completion.

Then, on Friday at 10 a.m., the Williamsburg Fire Department will host a ceremony for the groundbreaking of the new Williamsburg Fire Station.

Demolition of the former fire station began on Feb. 28, 2022 and concluded in early March. A 31,000-square-foot station will be built on the same lot. David A. Nice Builders and architectural firms Guernsey-Tingle Architects and Stewart-Cooper-Newell Architects are the design-build team for this project. The new station is slated to open in the summer of 2023.

The ceremony will feature remarks from Mayor Douglas Pons. 

“We are thrilled to invite the public to the groundbreaking of the Williamsburg Fire Station,” Mayor Pons said. “The old station served the City of Williamsburg well for more than 40 years. Soon this community and its first responders will have a state-of-the-art fire station that is able to provide great service that protects this community for the next 40 years.”