Midland Daily News, Michigan.
(TNS)
Aug. 13—The seemingly abrupt closure of Bay City Fire Station 5 was again a popular topic during Monday’s Bay City Commission meeting.
During a presentation by Safety Director Caleb Rowell to provide further details on the closure of Station 5, several commissioners and residents expressed their concerns.
“I think part of the frustration stems from the fact that we have not presented the plan (to close Station 5) to residents for communication,” said Commissioner Christopher Girard.
During a July 1 meeting, Rowell gave a presentation on the operations and infrastructure of fire stations on the city’s west side. He also outlined some of the rationale for a planned closure of Station 5 at 1209 East Smith Street in northwest Bay City, which would take place two weeks later on July 15.
However, at a regular commission meeting on July 15, both residents and commission members said they were surprised to learn of the station’s closure that same day.
“I apologize if I didn’t make my intention clear,” Rowell said. “I meant to. I just obviously didn’t because people were surprised.”
After nearly a month of dealing with the issue, several commissioners and residents spoke out about the closure on Monday.
“Many of the residents I spoke with wondered what would happen if a train stopped on the tracks and no one could get to the scene of a medical emergency or fire. What is our answer in that regard?” asked Commissioner Brentt Brunner.
Rowell responded that in such a case, a quick response is still possible thanks to mutual aid from neighboring communities like Bangor. He also mentioned that District 5 still has an ambulance stationed there, just no longer in a garage.
According to Rowell, the reasons for the station’s closure are the poor condition of the building (mold and mildew) and the limited availability of staff. The staff from Station 5 have now been moved to Station 4 so that at least two emergency personnel can be on duty at any time.
“The maximum staffing level Station 5 has ever had is one person,” Rowell said. “In a fire, one person can do a lot, but they can’t do much safely… There’s a high probability that (the one person) will put themselves in harm’s way rather than wait for more firefighters.”
Despite concerns about response time, most commissioners seemed to agree with Rowell that the presence of only one firefighter on scene during a fire rescue could result in a greater potential loss of life than the presence of two or more.
“Having a person in Station 5 does not solve the fire problem,” said Commission President Jesse Dockett. “We would essentially keep the station open only for medical calls.”
Dockett addressed concerns about the delays, saying that emergency crews were in contact with bridge and train commanders. Combined with the quick response times from mutual aid, Dockett said he was having a hard time finding a problem with the station closure.
“We have a situation where we approved (the closure of Ward 5) in the budget, we have a lot of money that we need to spend, and I’m not opposed to spending that money if it solves a problem, but I look at it and try to figure out what problem it solves, and I don’t see one,” Dockett said. “I see concern for a problem — which I understand and respect — but I don’t see a real problem.”
During the public hearing, seven residents came forward to discuss their concerns about the station’s closure, raising issues related to mutual aid, budget approval and funding, and again raising problems related to the station’s limited staffing, response times and infrastructure.
Rowell made some additional response time points in his presentation to address concerns raised by District 5 residents.
He explained that 90% of Bay City’s emergency medical calls are answered within eight minutes. He also mentioned that for four months during the COVID-19 pandemic, all emergency medical calls were answered by Station 1, which maintained an average response time of just under five minutes.
“In terms of emergency medical response times at Fire Station 5, we had a total of 133 emergency medical calls this year – prior to the closure – with an average response time of five minutes and 40 seconds,” Rowell said. “Since the closure (of Station 5) about three weeks ago, our average response time is still five minutes and eight seconds.”
Next month, the Ministry of Public Security will be holding infrastructure tours, during which residents can see for themselves the condition of the individual stations. The tours are scheduled daily from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. and will take place:
– September 3, Station 1, 1401 Center Avenue.
– September 4, Station 2, 1000 Fremont Street.
– September 17, Station 4, 212 South Dean Street.
– September 18, Station 5, 1209 East Smith Street.
“Even though Station 5 is closed, we still take people through so they can see for themselves what their condition is,” Rowell said.
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