Kelly Bridgewater admitted her personal passion as the wife of an Independence Township firefighter, but she said her motivation was that of a concerned Springfield Township resident.
“Until I started asking questions, I didn’t realize what we did not have,” she said, referring to what she called a “deficient” emergency medical services system.
At the Thursday, Aug. 14 Springfield Township Board meeting, Bridgewater presented a 20-page report comparing the staffing, equipment and funding of various communities’ fire departments. She requested the board to immediately move toward more full-time firefighters, advanced life support training and emergency transportation capabilities.
“My concern is the Springfield Township Fire Department did not fare very well by comparison,” she told the board. “There is a severe lack of progress and there is a deficiency in our EMS service.”
In addition to providing faster medical treatment in trauma situations, Bridgewater said an upgraded fire department would lead to a better ISO rating (from the International Standards Organization), which could help lower local property insurance rates.
The fire department this past year upgraded the medical response license from Medical First Responder to Basic Life Support/non-transport. That means the fire department will respond to medical runs with at least one emergency medical technician.
Advanced Life Support services, however, must come from private ambulance services such as American Medical Response or, in some cases, from adjoinging fire departments with an ALS rating.
Trustees were generally complimentary toward Bridgewater’s report, and promised “serious consideration” of the report. Action, however, will likely take some time.
“It is rare that residents even attend our meetings. It’s rarer yet that they come forward with their concerns, and I can’t remember anyone who has put the effort into any concern that you have,” Supervisor Collin Walls said. “Personally, I believe the place for our review and discussion of this is the budgetary process for 2004.”
Some said the report was an indication of the quality of the current fire department.
“I’m also struck with the incredibly high level of service this group of volunteers is currently providing with a budget roughly one-third of similarly populated areas,” Trustee Dean Baker said.
“I don’t think the problem lies with the personnel or the dedication of the personnel,” Bridgewater said. “I think the problem lies in growing with the times. What we’re comparing is numbers and statistics concerning response times. The fact is the ALS service in this community is deficient.”
Although her husband is a current member of the Independence Township Fire Department and a former Springfield firefighter, Bridgewater said she did not represent current firefighters.
Fire Chief Charles Oaks said the department currently has about 30 paid-on-call firefighters, many of whom have EMT or paramedic licenses. Oaks is the only full-time department employee, however, and he has proposed the hiring of two full-time firefighters for next year.
“I would like to see it quicker,” he said, but the township government must plan for the fiscal year, which begins in January.
“I think we need the ability to transport in emergency situations,” Oaks said, noting the gradual withdrawal of AMR from northern Oakland County.
Orion Township, just east of Independence Township still has a “non-transport” EMS service, however, depending on private ambulance service to take patients to the hospital, so Oaks does not believe Springfield is as far behind as some believe.
“Right now we don’t have the manpower” for a full Advanced Life Support service, the chief said.