• 12 new personnel to support industry firefighting standards

• Construction of a second fire station in a high-need area

• Ability to respond to more than 95% of our calls with adequate numbers of staff and appropriate equipment

• Greatly improve response times to areas far from the Zeeb Road station

• Improve safety and protection for career firefighter staff

• Upgrade and modernize vehicles, including a ladder truck and a new water tanker

Current Fire Department Staffing & Station

Today, the Scio Township Fire Department consists of 16 staff:

• 1 Fire Chief
• 1 Assistant Chief/Fire Marshal
• 1 Administrative Assistant
• 11 Career Firefighters
• 2 Paid-On-Call Firefighters
• 1 Part-Time Fire Investigator

By the fall of 2024, we will staff 4 career firefighters per 24-hour shift in the renovated original fire station on Zeeb Road. The Zeeb Road station is comprised of a reception area, one administrative office (the Chief’s office), 4 dorm rooms (one of which doubles as the Captain’s office), a dayroom/kitchen area (also serving as the Assistant Chief’s “office”) with two computers, a locker room, a laundry room, 5 bathrooms, 4 showers, a decontamination room, and an apparatus bay. The fitness room, an important feature for every fire department, is relegated to an outbuilding that also serves as vehicle storage and has no bathroom facilities or air-conditioning.

The existing Zeeb Road station has exceeded its capacity and is no longer adequate to meet Department needs. There is little room on site to expand outward, and when factoring in population growth outside the Jackson Road/Zeeb Road corridor, it makes little sense to expand at this location.

The Zeeb Road Fire Station also contains Scio Township’s Washtenaw Sheriff substation. When Scio built this station in 1988, it met the needs of the time, but there was no consideration of what the Township needs would be 30 years on. In 2020, we invested $3.5 million to renovate the building, which addressed many structural issues, but did not provide adequate space for the needs of a career department or for the increased demands of a much-larger population. The result: We had already outgrown the renovated building the day we moved back in.

History

Prior to 1988, fire protection in Scio Township was provided by the Dexter Area Fire Department. In 1988, the Zeeb Road station was built as a substation for the Dexter Area Fire Department (DAFD). The Township Board then decided to discontinue service with DAFD and authorized the creation of the Scio Township Fire Department (STFD). At its inception, the department had 2 full-time (40 hours/week) staff (Chief and Assistant Chief), and 18 Paid-on-Call (POC) staff, for a total of 20 members.

In 1988, Jackson Road was an undivided two-lane road and, according to 1990 Census data, Scio Township’s population was approximately 9,000 (excluding Dexter Village).

Growing Demand

Over the ensuing 36 years, there has been substantial growth in the number of residential developments (Scio Farms, Walnut Ridge, Country French Estates, Arbor Point, Polo Fields, Scio Ridge, the Uplands, Trailwoods, Scio View, and others), and the Township has experienced a commensurate growth in population. From 9,000 in 1990, the 2022 Census population estimate is 17,526. With more than 1,200 housing units currently in, or approved for, development, Scio will soon have more than doubled its population since the Fire Department was created in 1988.

Responding to almost 1,600 calls, 2023 was our busiest year on record…

With the establishment of the Downtown Development Authority, Jackson Road has been expanded to a virtual four-lane divided highway. As a result, commercial and residential development along the Jackson Road corridor has thrived. Changes in zoning are allowing for higher density developments and a greater number of stories on new buildings. New homes and apartments are being built, several commercial buildings are planned and under construction, and an approved senior living facility is about to break ground. Naturally, this growth places new and greater demands on the Fire Department. Due to the presence of several “big box” stores and multi-level apartment and condominium complexes, the need for a ladder truck has become critical. Often, the only effective means to control a fire is to douse it from the top down.

Medical Emergencies

In addition to traditional firefighting duties, firefighters provide Basic Life Support (BLS), non-transporting level care. (This designation indicates that the STFD is not licensed to transport patients to the hospital.) Firefighters are often the first to arrive on the scene of a medical call and can, among other services, administer certain medications, defibrillate cardiac arrest patients, perform CPR, and insert an advanced airway. Studies have shown that there’s a much greater chance of surviving a cardiac arrest if 8-10 rescuers arrive in the first 10 minutes. With the increased funding requested in the Fire Expansion proposal, STFD will be able to put 7 responders on incident scenes quickly for the best possible outcomes, with remaining personnel provided by our Advanced Life Support provider, Huron Valley Ambulance. Oftentimes HVA is delayed or not immediately available, so critical interventions, such as defibrillation, are performed by fire staff until the remainder of resources arrive to assist.

Medical Transport

Throughout all of Washtenaw County, medical transport service is provided by Huron Valley Ambulance (HVA). HVA is a privately owned company with no contract for service and no requirement to respond to emergencies. While the delivery of transporting Emergency Medical Services in Washtenaw County is increasingly transitioning to a model where some transport is delivered by fire departments (which is largely the norm elsewhere), STFD currently lacks the capacity to develop service along these lines. Transport capability has been identified as important area for growth, but STFD is not attempting to address this need through the Fire Expansion proposal on the November 5 ballot. 

Career Firefighters

The structure of the Fire Department has changed since its inception in 1988. Initially we relied entirely on non-career (Paid-on-Call) firefighters. However, the nature of the community along with a nationwide decline in availability of POC firefighters has made it necessary to shift to a career firefighter department. We now rely on a paid career staff of 9 firefighters (3 per 24-hour shift). The Township Board of Trustees recently approved the hiring of an additional 3 full-time firefighters, 1 per shift. Firefighter shifts are 24 hours, which is why all fire stations contain dorms. The addition of 3 firefighters this fall will bring the Zeeb Road station to its maximum capacity of 4 per shift, because there are only 4 dorms. This marks the first improvement in staffing for this department since January 2019.

Medical Emergencies

In addition to traditional firefighting duties, firefighters provide Basic Life Support (BLS), non-transporting level care. (This designation indicates that the STFD is not licensed to transport patients to the hospital.) Firefighters are often the first to arrive on the scene of a medical call and can, among other services, administer certain medications, defibrillate cardiac arrest patients, perform CPR, and insert an advanced airway. Studies have shown that there’s a much greater chance of surviving a cardiac arrest if 8-10 rescuers arrive in the first 10 minutes. With the increased funding requested in the Fire Expansion proposal, STFD will be able to put 7 responders on incident scenes quickly for the best possible outcomes, with remaining personnel provided by our Advanced Life Support provider, Huron Valley Ambulance. Oftentimes HVA is delayed or not immediately available, so critical interventions, such as defibrillation, are performed by fire staff until the remainder of resources arrive to assist.

Training

Along with the increased demands placed on the Department by a growing population, training requirements have increased – and become more complex. State regulations now set standards for fire service instructors, and the STFD can no longer rely on our existing staff to develop and deliver training. Until additional funding is provided by approval of the Fire Expansion proposal on the ballot on November 5, the Department is making do with what training can be put together, but not all relevant standards are being met. A dedicated training officer is necessary to train all personnel the same way, network with other departments, attend outside training, offer new techniques, and maintain accurate records. To meet state standards for proper instruction, the training officer position must be a dedicated full-time position.

Changing Regulations

In 1988, when the Department was formed, there was no hint of the OSHA/MIOSHA 2-in/2-out regulation. 2-in/2-out means: 2 Firefighters enter the building and 2 remain outside in case the 2 in the building become incapacitated or are needed to address any other emergency that requires life-saving assistance. It is easy to understand why this regulation exists: to reduce risk of firefighter injury and death. Not only is 2-in/2-out the industry standard, it is also the law. The Scio Township Fire Department is not able to enter a dangerous fire environment until we assemble a minimum of 4 firefighters on scene. Current funding levels have kept staffing to 3 personnel per shift since 2019. This has meant that arriving at the scene of a fire has not always resulted in the start of firefighting, but instead the nail-biting wait for Paid-on-Call or off-duty personnel or mutual-aid partners.  In the fall of 2024, the Department expects to welcome a fourth firefighter to each shift, thanks to increases in assessed property values in the last two years, action taken by the Board of Trustees, and diligent management of Department funds by Chief Houde. While most fire incidents require more than 4 firefighters on scene, for the first time in 5 years, STFD will be able to at least start the work of putting out a fire immediately upon arrival instead of waiting for sufficient numbers of personnel to arrive.

Board of Trustees July 23, 2024 Special Meeting (Watch the Video)

• Prospective Financials: 12 & 16 Years (Presented by Brian Camiller, Partner, Plante Moran) 

The Special Assessment District includes all of Scio Township except for areas of the City of Ann Arbor and the City of Dexter. Click here to download map.

2023 Project Map 

(Projects Approved - Pending Construction, Projects Under Construction, and Projects Under Review)

Stations 1 & 2, Primary Service Areas

White area: Zeeb Rd., Station 1
Yellow Area: Wagner Rd., Proposed Station 2

Proposed Location: Station 2

1st, 2nd & 3rd Alarm Areas

The answer to that question varies based on population and region of the state. In the metro-Detroit area, and other more densely populated areas of the state, the ratio of fire stations to square miles protected tends to be higher than in less populous municipalities.  There is quite a bit of variability in Washtenaw County as well, as this chart demonstrates.

2024 BALLOT PROPOSAL: Calls for a scaled down version of the schematics prepared in 2023 by Partners in Architecture. 

• Reduction in Scope of Fire Station 2  - (Aug 9, 2024, PowerPoint presented by Chief Houde)

• Fire Station 2 Schematics - (Aug 29, 2023,resentation by Partners in Architecture)

November 5 Fire Protection Millage Proposal

Shall an increase in tax limitation authorized by the Police and Fire Protection Act (PA 33 of 1951), imposed on all taxable real and tangible personal property in the Township of Scio, County of Washtenaw, Michigan, be enacted in an amount not to exceed 2.7 mills ($2.70 on each $1,000.00 of taxable value), for a period of 12 years, beginning in the year 2025 (December tax bill) and ending in the year 2036, inclusive, as a replacement of the current millage (1.35 mills) for the purpose of:

• providing funds for the Township's fire, rescue and first responder emergency medical services (non-transporting) for expenses including construction and operation of a second fire station;

• for fire fighters and administrative staff adequate to provide service from 2 fire stations;

• for replacement and additional fire apparatus and equipment acquisition for 2 fire stations; 

• for improvements, renovations, repair and maintenance of existing facilities and equipment;

• for related program support for the Township's fire and first responder emergency medical services

It is estimated that 2.70 mills would raise approximately $4,597,351 when first levied in December 2025.