New Dexter Township fire substation now in service
Firefighter Lee Root, left, was the first person to man the new Dexter Township substation Tuesday. He is pictured with Dexter Area Fire Department Chief Loren Yates, center, and Jim Seta, chairman of the fire department board at the new facility on North Territorial Road.
Lisa Allmendinger | AnnArbor.com
Root, who has 20 years' experience in the fire service, was hired six months ago as a full-time Dexter Area Fire Department firefighter and has the distinction of being the first firefighter to man the new substation at the MultiLakes Sewer Authority property.
“I’m proud to provide better services to the residents of Dexter Township,” he said. “I’m the lucky guy who came with the engine this morning.”
The station will be manned by one firefighter around the clock, said Dexter Area Fire Department Chief Loren Yates. Station 2, as its being called, will be backed up by the main station in downtown Dexter.
“The main goal is to get someone on the scene quicker for heart attacks and other medicals, fire suppression, grass fires or water rescues,” Yates said. “There will be a significant increase in the level of service and a decreased response time.”
A utility vehicle and an engine will be housed at the substation at 12088 North Territorial Road.
Jim Seta, chairman of the Dexter Area Fire Department board said analysis showed staffing the substation was a fiscally responsible thing to do to improve service for Dexter Township and other area residents.
Firefighter Mike Grissom of the Dexter Area Fire Department helped with the organization of the new firefighter trailer next to the Dexter Township substation Tuesday morning.
Lisa Allmendinger | AnnArbor.com
The township contracts with the Putnam Township Fire Department to cover the Portage Lake area in the northeast section of the township, the Chelsea Area Fire Authority (CAFA) to provide fire protection in the western portion of the township and the Dexter Area Fire Department to cover the center and southeast portions of the township.
Net startup costs for a temporary substation at 12088 North Territorial Road are estimated at about $47,000.
Lisa Allmendinger is a reporter for AnnArbor.com. She can be reached at lisaallmendinger@annarbor.com. For more Chelsea area stories, visit our Chelsea page. For more Dexter area stories, visit our Dexter page.