FEMA grant helps Mich. FD launch paramedic service

Photo provided to/TNS

By Kayla Tucker
mlive.com

SPRING LAKE TWP., Mich. — In a time when first responders, especially medical care providers, are strapped for staff, a local fire department is stepping up to fill that service gap.

Five firefighters with the Spring Lake Fire Department recently received an upgraded paramedic license.

The department, as a whole, now offers an Advanced Life Support level of service. With that, firefighter paramedics can now intubate a patient and administer more types of medication, as well as advanced heart monitoring.

“It’s taking everything to another degree of service,” said John Stalzer, township fire chief.

The only higher level of medical service the fire department could have is by providing transport. Currently, department personnel can provide the highest level of medical care in the field, but still need to defer to an ambulance if a victim needs to be transported to a hospital.

Stalzer said his department is only the third in the county to offer Spring Lake’s new level of service. Grand Haven Charter Township Fire/Rescue and Holland Charter Township Fire Department were already offering that level.

With five firefighters now trained in ALS, Stalzer said the goal is to have two of them working per shift. There are two fire trucks outfitted with the equipment and medications needed for advanced medical care, he said.

Last year the department responded to 1,358 calls, with about 75% of those needing medical service. Of those medical calls, between 15 and 20% were priority one, or of a critical nature.

“We do everything from helping patients who just need a lift, to cardiac arrest, to vehicle extraction, to drownings,” Stalzer said. “We do the whole gamut.”

Stalzer said the strain on first responders has been seen for the last decade, with an additional increase during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The township department only started hiring firefighters full-time in 2019.

“We felt the need to start advancing our care with the (chance) that the crisis could get worse,” Stalzer said. “We also are always looking at just giving better customer service.”

On the lakeshore, Stalzer said he’s seen up to 30-minute delays for ambulance service.

“All the employees do a great job, but there’s been such a strain on personnel, there’s not always a car readily available,” he said.

On average, the fire department arrives on a scene within four to six minutes, while an ambulance takes eight minutes, Stalzer said.

The lack of staffing comes from a variety of reasons — the amount of training needed, pay, time commitment and a risky, sometimes traumatic job are among some.

“The field calls for a certain type of person, they’ve got to be very service-oriented,” Stalzer said. “Money has (also) become an issue ... when you go into a field where you’re going to be doing some unpleasant things.”

State and federal funding has aided Spring Lake and other fire departments in paying for training of new and existing firefighters.

Most recently, the department received an Assistance to Firefighters grant of over $100,000 Assistance through FEMA. The funds are helping the department with training and new equipment costs.

Stalzer said part of the hope is to entice new hires by paying for their school training and materials, while also paying them by the hour to do the training.

“At least in my area, we do see younger people with interest in it,” Stalzer said. “I don’t think it’s going away.”

A total of 28 people work at the Spring Lake Fire Department , including six full-time firefighters.

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