Introduction

• The month started and finished at a very fast pace. During the first weeks we responded to a record number of calls for service. As the end of the month approached and calls lessened the number and scope of station projects increased. I wish to thank everyone for contributing to the numerous tasks that were completed this month as well as the high attendance at each of the four training sessions. This was all accomplished around a holiday weekend and hunting season.

Personnel

• Both Paige Ashcraft and Andrew Hooper were approved by the Township Board in November. Paige has completed her orientation and submitted her National Registry paperwork to the State to obtain her Michigan MFR license.
• Mike Downey, approved by the board in September, has informed me that because he has taken on two new jobs and continues to live in Grawn he will not be available to help with duty shifts. Therefore, until such time as something changes in his life, he will not have time to be of any real help with fill-in coverage.
• Beginning December 1, Rachel Schaap and Andrew Anthony will start working 24hr. shifts in lieu of the 12hr. shifts they have been working. This adjustment makes it easier to not only fill schedule gaps which have been developing more often, but will be a step closer to reaching the goal of maintaining our minimum staffing. We still need everyone to be diligent in reviewing the on-call calendar and taking shifts as they are available.

Training

• This month Dena Smith stayed busy developing and instructing three didactic and two practical training sessions in addition to several makeups.
• The mandatory Regional Special Programs Training was attended by all but one Department member. Attendees also included members of the Empire Fire Department and Rangers from the National Park.
• The annual Incident Command training was also well attended and very informative. If you have completed and returned your paperwork, a certificate of participation will be provided by FEMA.
• EMS personnel who attended both the didactic and practical sessions of the Pediatric Emergencies course and successfully passed the Examination will also receive certificates.
• Dena has also labeled a new shipment of training videos from FETN. Please take advantage of this opportunity and complete the online testing to receive credit.

Apparatus

• The generator on Q-331 has been repaired and reinstalled. The repair of this unit was covered under warranty. Again it is important to remember when a load is on the generator the vehicle must be at “HIGH IDLE”.
• The Basic EMS equipment has now all been relocated to the red Tahoe. This unit will remain numbered as 393.
• All of the apparatus has been taken to Kasson Sand and Gravel and weighed. The air pressure in each of the tires has been adjusted accordingly for the weather and weights. When checking the tires please take note of the new pressures which are located at the top of the check sheets.
• Both a battery switch and charger have been installed on the Ranger (384). This should eliminate any load draining of the battery and the trickle charger should assure it is fully charged.

Facilities

• KJM outdoor was awarded this year’s snowplowing contract. They have been informed that they should plow the snow only when it reaches depths of greater than 3 inches. If you find that at sometime either removal or chemical application may be necessary please contact me so we can evaluate it and make arrangements to have the necessary work done.
• Fire Extinguishers have all had their annual inspections completed and are good for another year.
• The problems with the High-Bay lights in the garage area have been fixed. Four additional switches and circuits have been added to reduce the load. This should prevent the constant tripping of the breakers. The lights however still require time for warming and should be allowed to do so before shutting them back off.
• The electric shorelines have also been rewired. This rewiring was necessary due to the load placed on the circuits with the new battery chargers. It was presumed that each had been placed on their own circuit when the building was originally wired. Thanks to the duty crews for helping me accomplish this task.

Equipment

• All of the loose equipment is now mounted on the apparatus. Portable radios and chargers should be mounted very soon. Key boxes have also been placed on each of the apparatus for the Supra Boxes.
• The four-gas meter is now located on the Quint and each of the engines has a single gas meter.
• All of the Department’s AEDs have had the software upgraded to the new American Heart Association’s CPR standards. Should the need arise to use them this will help in reminding you of the new ratios (30-2).

Programs

• I am pleased to announce that Andrew Anthony, with the help of many others, has now completed the entry of all the fire hazard surveys. Many have been put in a print format and will be put into notebooks until such time as we can become fully electronic. The surveys have photos, maps, contacts and diagrams for each of the 83 commercial entities in our first-run district.
• Several contracts for service have not been renewed this year. Prior to not renewing them, thorough consideration was given to how to eliminate them without compromising our services. The Satellite phone has been found to not be required because of recent changes to the Medical Control repeater. Additionally, with the change to Cellular One as our cell phone vendor, coverage has been much better, eliminating the quantity of “dead-spots”.
• Lautner Irrigation has previously been contracted to start and stop the sprinkler system. With the addition of the high volume air compressor on the ladder truck we now can complete this task easily ourselves.
• The bunk beds have been ordered and should be in near the beginning of January. This is considering the delay that will exist in shipping because of the holidays. These beds will be replacing those donated by the Homestead. The extra beds provide the necessary accommodations for staff.
  
  

  Total Department Activity
  November	Total	Staff Hours*
  Medical Responses	28	252
  Fire Responses	14	321
  Pre-Fire Plans	24	48
  Training Sessions	6	270
  Vehicle Inspections	48	96
  Special Events	5	17
  Walk-In	4	6
  Total Activity	129	1010
  *These hours reflect time accumulated by all Department members, volunteer, part-paid and full-time.

   

  Submitted by:
  John A. Dodson

  Acting Chief of the Department