Neighboring fire departments join forces to acquire inflatable fire prevention house

Grant Township Fire Chief Dan Yost, at right, and Shelby-Benona Firefighter EMT Ben White-Elder stand next to the new fire prevention house, which was recently set up inside the Grant Township Fire Station.

Departments seeking millage increases Aug. 6 

By Allison Scarbrough, News Editor

GRANT TOWNSHIP — Shelby-Benona and Grant Township fire departments recently unveiled a new inflatable house that will be used as a valuable education tool in fire prevention.

Shelby-Benona Fire Chief Jack White proposed the idea of obtaining a bounce house for the kids for fire prevention open houses and other events, said Grant Township Fire Chief Dan Yost, who applied for a grant through the Community Foundation for Oceana County. “They awarded us $5,000,” said Chief Yost. “We split the remainder of the cost,” he said of the two neighboring fire departments chipping in about $2,400 combined.

Firefighter/EMT Ben White-Elder, who is the Shelby-Benona Fire Department’s public information officer and Chief White’s grandson, organized a Polar Plunge event last March in the Stony Lake swimming area that raised a significant financial portion for the inflatable house. “The funds were split evenly through Grant and Shelby fire (departments),” said White-Elder. “It was our first year, and about 30 people went into the water. We also took private donations to drum up some extra funds. We raised just over $1,000.” White-Elder said he plans to make it an annual event as a partnership between the two departments.

“We will use it for fire prevention and probably bring it to the Oceana County Fair and other events,” said Yost. The inflatable house is easily transportable. “It only takes about three minutes to inflate. It has its own carrying case, and we just roll it back up. We can take it to a school in the middle of winter and inflate it in the gym. Then, we have a fire prevention house right there for the kids.”

Smoke machines can be used to simulate an actual house fire and show children how to make an exit plan and stay low to escape.

National Night Out debut

The inflatable fire prevention house will make its debut at National Night Out, Aug. 6, from 4-8 p.m. at the Shelby Community Park, at 4101 W Buchanan Rd.

Participating agencies and organizations in the first-ever Oceana County event will include: the Oceana County Sheriff’s Office, Hart Police Department, Shelby Police Department, Oceana County Emergency Management, Michigan State Police — Hart post, Hart Area Fire Department, Life EMS, Pentwater Fire Department, Grant Township Fire Department, Shelby-Benona Fire Department, Michigan DNR, Mason-Oceana 911, the Shelby High School football program, the Hart High School football program, and Grace Adventures.

National Night Out is an annual community-building campaign that promotes strong police/community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make neighborhoods safer.

Some activities and events will include a climbing tower, bounce house, displays, corn hole game, face painting, and free food and drinks.

Departments seek millage increases

“We’re both going for millage increases this year,” said Yost. Grant Township is requesting a 2-mill millage on the Aug. 6 ballot, which would double the fire department’s current 1-mill rate. “We generate about $85,000 or so a year off our 1-mill millage. Our total operating budget is just over $200,000, and that’s for wages, trucks, everything. We’re probably one of the lower entities in Oceana County when it comes to annual budgets. Part of the reason we’re asking for an increase is because things cost more. We haven’t had a millage increase in at least 20 years. Our call volume from 20 years ago has doubled. Our normal operations are running just over 500 calls a year. We’re operating on the same vehicles, for the most part, and some of these vehicles need to be replaced.

“We’re trying to show the community that we’re trying to think of innovative ways to be responsive to their needs, public needs and prevention, but also collaborate with other departments to come up with grants and other funds.

“We’re up 40 calls from the same time last year, and last year was our highest on record with 506,” said Yost. 

“Currently we operate on a .985 mill,” said White-Elder. “We’re asking for one full mill for the operating budget, and there is a second ballot proposal for a half mill that would go directly towards equipment. Essentially we would be going from .985 to 1.5.

“The equipment one, which is the secondary one, would go towards upkeep on equipment — hand tools, ladders, saws, etc. Looking forward into the future, most of our frontline engines are a couple decades old. They’re doing their job but as they age, building construction changes and the calls that we go to change.

“The operating one, which is the smaller percentage from .985 to the full mill, would go toward things like budget operating costs like payroll, insurance, etc.

The interior walls of the fire prevention house are decorated to look like an actual house.

“We would also utilize those funds for things like fire prevention. We try to be in the schools — with the third grade class in Shelby — a minimum of once a month versus just a single week in October during Fire Prevention Week. We will try to build on events like the Polar Plunge. Just so that we can keep doing events and benefits while still growing, protecting and serving our community through response and training.

Like Grant Township’s increase in emergency calls, the Shelby-Benona Fire Department is also experiencing a major increase in its call volume. “From 2014 to the end of the last calendar year, we went from about 120 calls to 350,” said White-Elder. “This year, we are on pace to touch nearly 500. It’s gone up substantially in the last decade.”

The firefighters, who are paid per call, respond not only to fires, but also medical emergencies, car crashes, downed power lines and other emergencies. 

Free smoke detector programs

Both fire departments install free smoke detectors in local homes through smoke detector installation programs. “There are lots of things we’re doing in the community to make sure people are safe,” said Yost. “Just for our department, we’ve had eight structure fires since Oct. 31 of last year, and only one of them had smoke detectors.”

White-Elder said his department has had a similar experience with a lack of smoke detectors in homes. There were no working smoke detectors in an apartment fire in Shelby last winter that resulted in a death. 

“We just got a $3,000 grant from Electric Forest,” said Yost. “We have about six boxes of smoke detectors that we’ll divvy out soon.” The EF grant allowed for the purchase of about 100 smoke detectors. “They’re hoping to continue that yearly. We do a home assessment and make sure there are no other hazards.”

Anyone in Oceana County who needs smoke detectors should message the Facebook pages for the Grant Township Fire Department and the Shelby-Benona Fire Department.

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