Excerpts from Record-Eagle.com:
The Grand Traverse Metro Fire Department board has recently approved 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 to respond to fires outside the boundaries of Acme, East Bay, and Garfield townships. This decision comes after a significant imbalance in mutual aid: Metro provided support 25 times over the past year, while receiving help only 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 new policy aims to encourage more balanced cooperation among local fire departments.
Grand Traverse County operates under a box-response system, dividing the area into 80 geographic zones. Each zone is pre-assigned to a specific fire department based on incident severity. A first alarm is triggered by an initial call, and larger incidents may escalate to second, third, or fourth alarms, requiring additional resources.
Under the new policy, Metro will charge $1,000 for the first two hours of a second-alarm response, $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 has requested that the box assignments be revised so that Metro no longer responds to first-alarms outside its three member townships.
"So many first alarms are just investigations," Parker explained. "There's no need for us to send out our trucks. A well-equipped 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 can afford. "Our townships pay for a certain level of readiness, and it doesn’t seem fair to offer that for free to others," he said. "I believe we’ll see changes across the county as a result."
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 for mutual aid, though some details were debated. She also mentioned that Blair Township already charges for mutual aid and maintains good relations with its neighbors.
"We expect other jurisdictions that don’t currently charge to follow suit," Friend said. "We welcome that change."
Grand Traverse Rural Fire, which received 12 mutual aid requests—mostly from Whitewater Township—is likely to feel the biggest impact. Blair Township received aid seven times but offered it only twice, while Traverse City received help five times and returned it once.
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