School bus repurposed to help South Torch Lake Fire and Rescue firefighters in the heat of the moment

VIDEO/PHOTOS: Walk through most northern Michigan fire departments and you are bound to see a variety of trucks and vehicles they use to respond to emergencies. But one local fire department has a new addition unlike any other department around. "It's different every day. I get to meet different people every day. Unfortunately, sometimes I see them in their worst conditions, but it's different every day," said Fire Chief Paul Fabiano. Something different every day. For the firefighters at South Torch Lake Fire and Rescue, that means they have to be prepared for just about anything. A quick walk through the fire station shows you they are. "Every vehicle has a purpose," Chief Fabiano said. But their latest addition -- just a few weeks old -- might seem familiar in form, just not expected in this fleet.
WPBN-TV NBC 7 Traverse City

Oakland County launches new countywide radio system

Farmington Hills Police Chief Jeff King said that his confidence in a new countywide radio system is high, and that there have already been benefits. “It’s delivered so far on all of its promises,” King said. “It has some emergency capability for the officers, in regards to the satellite GPS tracking of officers. Things that our old system never had, this new system has, to where if an officer was to get in trouble and was not able to communicate with us, we would be able to utilize the system as another means to locate that officer.” Oakland County first responders can now be anywhere in the state and contact their home base or communicate with other agencies through radio with the implementation of the county’s $61 million radio system from Motorola.
C&G Newspapers

Battle Creek Fire Department investigates suspicious fire at abandoned gas station

PHOTO: The Battle Creek Fire Department is investigating a suspicious fire that occurred at an abandoned gas station Sunday evening. Around 6:30 p.m., firefighters were dispatched to 3 Spring Street for a report of a structure fire. Once on scene, responders found heavy smoke and fire showing from the abandoned gas station, authorities said. The fire was extinguished within 30 minutes and no injuries were reported, authorities said. Investigators are estimating that the fire caused $50,000 in property damage and $5,000 in contents damage. Authorities believe the fire was caused under suspicious circumstances. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact the Battle Creek Fire Department Administration.
WWMT-TV CBS 3 Kalamazoo

Following brush fire, DNR suspends all burning activity in West Michigan

VIDEO: A large brush fire covering more than 10 acres took up a lot of resources in Muskegon County over the weekend. Fire officials say the threat is not over yet. Muskegon Township firefighters say these brush fires will continue to happen and people in the area need to be more cautious. “I hope everybody gets to see this and understands the dangers that they're in,” fire inspector Jack Wydeck said. "I imagine by the time that this airs today, we'll have another brush fire right here in Muskegon County.” Sunday afternoon, Muskegon Charter Township Fire Department responded to a grass fire they thought they’d be able to contain. They quickly realized the extent of the fire and called for additional assistance, including the Department of Natural Resources. Wydeck says it took crews several hours to get the fire under control.
WZZM-TV ABC 13 Grand Rapids

Northwest Wexford Emergency Authority is Now Advanced Life Support Certified

The Northwest Wexford Emergency Authority is now Advanced Life Support certified as of last Friday. Having ALS service means they have a paramedic and an EMT on call 24 hours a day, and they won’t have to rely on MMR or Blair Township anymore. NWEA said their goal is to change and update services to keep up with the needs of the community. “It’s always been, you know, that that need to keep increase in the service. So we went from a paid on call. People come from their homes, increased it to where we have staffing now and it was just the next step having staffing here to get that service service. So it was a good move, it’s exciting,” said Fire Chief Michael Guernsey. NWEA is asking the public to vote on a millage this fall to keep services going at their current level.
WWTV CBS 9 Cadillac