OCEANA COUNTY, Mich. — Fire departments in Oceana County are working to create a new fire authority that would expand coverage and lower response times for the communities they serve.
Hart Fire Board Member Bill Kolenda said the proposal would unite the Hart and Pentwater fire departments under a single authority.
WATCH: Hart and Pentwater Fire Departments move toward unified fire authority
"We are looking to start a new board to develop a fire authority that's called the West Mich Fire Authority," Kolenda said.
He says the goal would be to pool resources for both departments.
"Joining together funding, manpower, and equipment, bringing it all together to one house, to make it so we have full time firefighters, to help with response times, and help with being sustainable in the near future," Kolenda said.
The departments have been discussing the idea for roughly 18 months. At Hart Fire Department's Thursday night board meeting, the first formal steps were taken.
"It was announced that we are looking to move forward to a fire authority to join with Pentwater to combine services," Kolenda said.
Oceana County Emergency Manager Tory Maloney said the merger would help slow the escalation of costs over time and create financial stability.
"As demands for service and costs continue to increase, we have to look into new ways to be more efficient to manage our fire services," Maloney said.
Hart Area Fire Department Chief Dwight Fuehring, who has been with the department for roughly 30 years, said the need for more emergency response in the area is growing.
"We just are feeling the need with the Silver Lake Sand Dunes and everything else around here, we're just feeling the need that we need to have more of a presence," Fuehring said.
He said the fire authority would be a benefit to everyone in the area.
"Our response times are going to be a lot quicker. Just overall it's going to be a great benefit for the communities," Fuehring said.
Hart neighbor Art Willick said he sees only positives in the merger.
"There's always a demand for that kind of service with the dune buggies, the accidents on the dunes, and all kinds of things like that are really important to have people close," Willick said. "I think it's great, it's great to have. The more of that kind of support: first responders, fire department, the better off we are.”
Kolenda says their goal is to have the fire authority approved by all parties by Sept. 1.
The plan now calls for a committee to work out the details of funding and oversight for the new authority. Those terms will then be reviewed and voted on by the participating agencies.
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