After 10 years of faithful service to Addison Township, Jim Uicker stepped down as chairman of the fire board last week.
‘I felt I pretty well accomplished most of what I set out to do,? he said. ‘It was time to pass the baton to the next person.?
When Uicker joined the fire board, which consists of unpaid appointees, in November 1997, the department had no full-time chief, consisted of all paid-on-call members and had an agreement for Advanced Life Support (ALS) services with a private provider.
Uicker, who works as an engineer for Detroit Edison, was ‘concerned? that ‘at the end of the 20th century . . . the need (for services) was greater? than what the fire department could adequately handle at that time, so he volunteered to serve on its oversight board.
Ten years later, the department has a full-time chief, three full-time firefighters/paramedics in addition to the dedicated paid-on-call staff, provides its own ALS services and has a modern headquarters in Leonard.
Uicker’s proudest of the ALS services.
Back in the days when Addison was using a private provider, he said ‘we were waiting 20 minutes at times? for those critical services.
‘I was quite pleased to find that last month we we’re about 4? minutes (technically 4 minutes, 48 seconds),? he said, noting that cutting response times makes a ‘tremendous difference in the survival rate.?
‘For a rural fire district with the kind of roads that we have and the weather conditions, that’s incredible,? said Fire Chief George Spencer.
Despite all the department’s advances and successes, Uicker says he can’t take all the credit. ‘In no way did I figure I had done all that by myself,? he said. ‘There were some very good people involved in it over that period of time that I’m sure had as much or more to do with that than myself.?
Spencer had nothing but praise for Uicker.
‘He was a good, consistent fire board member to work with,? the chief said. ‘Jim always maintained a very level head. He was always very predictable and easy to work with.?
When asked if he’ll ever become involved in township government again, Uicker replied, ‘Well, that depends on what opportunities develop ? I won’t rule it out.?