.png)
Letters to the editor are opinion editorials submitted by readers. Letters to the editor are a long tradition in American journalism. The views and opinions of the writer do not necessarily reflect those of Mason County Press, its staff or its parent company. For more information, please refer to OCP’s Letter to the Editor Policy.
Dear Editor:
The defeat of the ambitious Pentwater Fire Department millage got me thinking. I voted for it because I worry about response times. With voters saying no, I wonder if just sustaining the status quo is the wisest course of action.
For 160 years, there have been enough able-bodied volunteers* to staff the PFD. But today, there are only 12 certified firefighters (and two probationary volunteers). Will the PFD be able to attract enough firefighters in the future? Only one of them lives in the village where the fire barn is located. The volunteer pipeline is worrisome, because more Pentwater residents seem to be of retirement age; properties cost more; some 40 percent (or more?) of village dwellings are weekly rental properties, and voters are unwilling to support the school that could attract young families. To assure adequate response times given these trends, the PFD proposed having paid staff on duty 24×7. But voters said no. So, is trying to maintain the status quo now the right thing to do?
I’m intrigued by a suggestion that someone posted on Facebook about creating a fire authority across several townships. Their idea involves combining (township populations are shown in parenthesis) Pentwater (1,514), Weare, (1,267), Riverton (1,242), and Summit (924). I think only Pentwater and Riverton have actual fire departments. Someone proposed a new fire barn near the 9-1-1- building on Oceana Drive. Interestingly, that’s about in the middle of these four townships.
The Hart FD provides fire protection in Weare Township, I believe, and half of the PFD’s volunteers are also Hart firefighters. Maybe the more feasible consolidation involves Pentwater and Hart.
Such brainstorming triggers many questions: How would current fleets, equipment, training and staffing match up? Would a central location increase the pool of able-bodied volunteers needed for a combined, centrally-located fire department? Would it require paid supervisory staff? Would current volunteers be willing to continue serving in such a combined arrangement? Would it increase their travel times away from jobs and families when they respond to emergency calls? Would current township property taxes be enough to support this? Could current millages generate enough money to have one or two paid firefighters on call 24×7 (so that emergency rigs could more quickly roll to a scene, where other volunteers would join them)?
I hope those who know the most about fire protection in this area begin talking, if they aren’t already. What’s achievable and what’s not? We all salute the firefighters in our respective communities, and must support them in ways that address the realities that we collectively face.
Ron Beeber
Pentwater
*Editor’s note: Firefighters in Oceana County are paid per call. Riverton and Summit townships, located in Mason County, are part of the Mason County Rural Fire Authority, which consists of seven fire stations/departments that are funded by that authority. Neither of those two townships own their own fire equipment, with the exception of Riverton Township owning the fire station that houses the Riverton Fire Department.
.jpg)
