Community thankful for a dedicated
roster of firefighters
Weather-related calls, a medical assist, and a general fire alarm comprised the Frankenmuth Fire Department’s past week of runs.
At 4:24pm Monday, March 16, the FFD was called to the 7600 block of West Tuscola Road for a downed utility pole in the back yard of a residence. This created a local power outage.
Consumers Energy was notified and the 15 firefighters who responded to the alarm cleared after 30 minutes at the scene.
About 90 minutes later, at 5:59pm, fire personnel were summoned to the intersection of West Schleier and North Franklin Street, near the DPW building, for a downed wire.
Engine 2 responded and determined it was an AT&T communication line. AT&T was contacted and the dozen firefighters cleared within 20 minutes.
At 3:35pm Friday, March 20, MMR Ambulance Service requested assistance for a medical call at Medilodge, 500 West Genesee Street.
FFD Assistant Chief Dan Schneirla said when he arrived, the FFD was no longer needed and units were able to clear immediately thereafter. Eight firefighters reported for duty, and cleared 15 minutes following activation.
Alarm No. 45 took place Sunday, March 22, at 4:15pm at Winter Village, 255 Mayer Road. A general fire alarm created the call, was Engine 2 and Truck 3 responded.
Painting contractors falsely caused the alarm while working. A total of 10 fire personnel reported, clearing after 20 minutes.
In other FFD news, Chief Phil Kerns reflected on the dedicated personnel the Frankenmuth Fire Department has on its roster.
“While monitoring the fire radio this past week, I heard a couple times where fire departments in Saginaw County needed to, one, be reactivated to respond to a fire call either because no one from that department was able to respond, or, two, only one or two firefighters responded to the station for the call and the apparatus wasn’t properly staffed to respond,” Kerns said. “So, the departments involved were forced to wait for more firefighters to respond or utilize another option by sending a neighboring department to cover for them. Thankfully. Mutual aid is available, but this was unheard for years ago.”
Both of these calls luckily were unfounded; however, something resulted in that Saginaw County Central Dispatch 911 dispatchers activated them for a potential emergency.
“We are seeing more often where multiple fire departments are being activated collectively for an emergency call, all because of staffing shortages and multiple departments are needed to respond to bring additional personnel. Sadly, this matter is becoming the norm whereby years ago it was unheard of,” Kerns pointed out.
Because area fire departments don’t have scheduled shifts or paid staffing, volunteers are on call 24/7.
“I often refer to my fire radio as my tether because I hardly go anywhere without it. We have chosen that tether way of life because of our call to duty. That holds true or your Frankenmuth firefighters. It never fails that when we least expect it, a call is dispatches requiring our immediate response,” Kerns stated.
“I know our community is thankful for our service, which I liken to that of military service. Yes, we chose our duty to respond, but do so willingly, unlike a military draftee who must report to a distant location or incident not of their choosing or liking. I know this community is thankful for all types of volunteers who respond to their call for duty. Because of that thankfulness and support, the FFD remains strong and committed to this duty, day or night, 24/7, since 1904,” Kerns concluded.
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