WALKER, Mich. — One of the first people I talked to when I became Walker's reporter for FOX 17 was the city's new fire chief, Russell Shoultz. At that time, he told me how his department would soon be staffed 24/7. That happened over the weekend, so I touched base with the chief about what it all means.
Shoultz set the scene: "When I became fire chief, we did a community risk assessment. One of the biggest risks to our community was at night, when we had elongated response times," Shoultz said.
"The primary benefit to 24-hour coverage with personnel in the firehouse is response times when you have a life-threatening situation, such as a fire, a rescue situation, a medical emergency," Shoultz said. "Which a week ago may have taken 22 minutes, today that same instance, we may have someone on the scene in five to seven minutes."
As I walked through Station 2 in Standale, the physical changes were easily apparent.
"The crews are here for 48 hours on duty, and they're off for 96 hours," Shoultz explained. "We had to do things like get beds, get washers and dryers and anything that you would have at your house."
During those long duty hours, there's training, doing fire and safety inspections, and meeting the public.
But Shoultz notes that relaxation is important for first responders.
"They've got to have some downtime to relax. And so we made sure that everything that you would need at your house to relax after a long, stressful day at work," he said. "When they're on duty, though, they don't know when that work's going to come."
The difference it makes was apparent on Saturday, when the department got four calls in three minutes, and they were all handled.
The 10-week planning process involved multiple city departments, including public works for station reconfigurations and human resources for staffing changes.
The department hired two additional personnel two months ago but is currently operating with minimum coverage levels — just a couple of people at each of the two staffed stations. Future strategic planning includes hiring additional staff to increase coverage numbers.
Walker Fire Department remains a combination department with career staff in firehouses 24 hours a day, supported by paid on-call personnel who respond from home.
The department now also responds to medical emergencies overnight, a service previously handled solely by police. Fire personnel are trained as EMTs and can provide care within the critical five-to-10-minute window that significantly improves patient outcomes.
Not only does the 24/7 coverage fit with the department's staffing, it also fits in its existing budget by moving funds and changing priorities.
"We're building on the success of everyone that's been in this fire department since 1937," Shoultz said. "This fire department's been here since 1937 and has efficiently and effectively served its community well. Now we're moving into the next chapter."
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