Fire dept saving money on new truck

The Graafschap Fire Department is planning for the future, looking at ways to save money on needed equipment and implement staffing changes.

Chief Doug DenBleyker reported to the Laketown Township Board of Trustees on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, that the department is looking to purchase a new pumper/tanker to be delivered in 2027. By placing an order for the truck in 2025, the department expects to save more than $50,000 due to emission changes in 2026.

Costs are rising “at a crazy rate” Laketown Township Treasurer Jim Johnson said. Johnson is also chairperson of the Graafschap Fire Department Fire Board that includes representative from Laketown and Fillmore townships.

The vehicle will replace a 31-year-old truck.

The Laketown Township board on Wednesday, March 12, unanimously approved entering into a contract this year for the truck. Fillmore Township has also approved the purchase.

“It gets us in the production line and gets us pricing significantly lower,” Johnson said.

The townships put a cap on the cost of the truck of $650,000.

The department is also waiting for a new tanker ordered last year to be completed. The chassis was delivered in December and is being stored at the fire station, 4534 60^th St., until later this year when the remainder on the apparatus is completed at Spencer Manufacturing in South Haven. The total cost of the apparatus was $578,000.

This vehicle will be designated Tanker 740.

Staffing

The department has been planning for years to add three full-time staffers to the current 16-member team that also includes three full-timers – the Chief, Deputy Chief Mike Capel and Captain Dave Grumney.

Fire board members at the group’s March 6 meeting supported the proposed new full-time members that would give residents in the Graafschap Fire Department response area 24 hours a day, seven days a week coverage when three full-time staff are added but were concerned about paying for the $100,000 cost for each position. The fire department is funded by Fillmore and Laketown townships using a funding formula that uses the previous year’s calls into each township and the state equalized value covered in each township by the fire department.

“I know we need it,” said Fire Board member Bob Yonker of Fillmore Township, but Fillmore isn’t financially ready to handle the cost of $300,000 all at once for the three new positions.

Johnson asked for a slower approach to adding staff.

“I’d like to see, instead of three all at once, maybe transition with one,” he said.

Chief DenBleyker agreed to put a plan together that staggers the hiring of the new full-time staff members over time and have it ready for the June fire board meeting.

“We’ll put our heads together,” he said, and have a plan for the fire board to study.

The idea of adding three full-time members has been discussed for several years.

The new full-timers are needed to improve response times, handle the increasing number of calls, and add staffing due to the decreasing availability of paid-on-call firefighters. Staffing numbers have gone from a high of 24 in 2018 to a low of 16 today. The time and training requirements for firefighters today has had a negative effect on recruiting.

Calls have risen from 375 in 2012 to a high of 894 in 2022. In 2024, there were 876 calls.

Graafschap Fire Department responds to fire, medical and other emergency situations in all of Laketown Township and part of Fillmore Township, and assists other agencies as needed.

Currently, the fire station is staffed weekdays from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. with the current full-time staff responding to calls when most paid-on-call firefighters are at their jobs. After 4 p.m. and on weekends, all calls originate from member homes. They must drive to the station, put on gear, and drive trucks to the emergency.