The Lincoln Township Fire Department could soon become a full-time operation.
Speaking to township trustees this week, Fire Chief Brandon Chiarello laid out a proposal that would eventually transition the department from only having a paid-on-call staff to also having firefighters at the station and ready to respond to emergencies on a 24/7 basis.
Chiarello said the department’s current model of on-call staff has been in place since 1909, but with so much development taking place around the township, demand for fire services has been rising.
“Looking over a 10-year call volume analysis, we’ve seen a 69% call volume increase since 2015,” Chiarello said. “We’re on pace for the busiest year in Lincoln Township history, on pace for 368 calls.”
Chiarello said the way things are now, on-call firefighters are notified when they’re needed, and then they have to go to the station to suit up and grab their gear before heading to the scene. With someone at the station working full-time, response would be faster and the township’s insurance rating would improve, reducing costs for residents. He said with full-time staff, the department could also handle building inspections, cardiac arrest response, highway crash response, and fire hydrant maintenance.
Chiarello is proposing a two-phase roll out of the new model starting in April of 2026. Phase One would get things started modestly.
“Hiring two full-time firefighters for a day shift, either four 10s or Monday through Friday, similar to my schedule. And then Phase Two would be where we have that 24-7, 365 coverage. That would be in two years, April 1 of 2028. That would include three rotating shifts of two firefighters per shift.”
There would also be a swing shift to fill gaps. Plus, the township’s paid-on-call firefighters would augment the full-time staff, still making up the bulk of the department.
Trustees appeared receptive of Chiarello’s proposal. Township Supervisor Glenn Youngstedt told us it may be time for a more robust fire department.
“We are the biggest township in the county, and frankly, we’re bigger than St. Joe or Benton Harbor,” Youngstedt said. “And it’s time we grow our fire department to be a department that can serve the community in a much more responsive manner.”
Youngstedt said not that the fire department isn’t responsive now. It’s just that the chief estimates response times could be cut in half by having full-time employees.
The chief is asking for a millage proposal to raise the fire protection rate from .675 to 1.75 mills next year. It would scrap the current fire millage. Trustees indicated they may consider the plan soon.
