Posted by Scott Bolthouse | The Huron Hub| July 10, 2020

The Huron Township Department of Public Safety will have a 1-mill property tax request on the Aug. 4 Primary Election ballot.

The millage is specific to the Huron Township Fire Department and Emergency Dispatch Center for use to upgrade equipment, make building improvements, and purchase fire response vehicles such as fire trucks, said Public Safety Director Everette Robbins.

Robbins and Fire Chief Jamie Hinojosa will be conducting a series of town hall meetings over the next several weeks to speak to residents regarding the millage.

Here is a list of the meetings

To read more about the upcoming millage vote, visit this article.

Posted by Scott Bolthouse | The Huron Hub| June 11, 2020 

The Huron Township Department of Public Safety will have a millage request on the Aug. 4 Primary Election ballot.

The wording was approved by the Huron Township Board of Trustees during a recent meeting.

The millage is specific to the Huron Township Fire Department and Emergency Dispatch Center for use to upgrade equipment, make building improvements, and purchase fire response vehicles such as fire trucks, said Public Safety Director Everette Robbins.

Robbins and Fire Chief Jamie Hinojosa will be conducting a series of town hall meetings over the next several weeks to speak to residents regarding the millage.

Announcements for these meetings will be made on The Huron Hub, as well as the Huron Township Department of Public Safety Facebook page.

“This is an important millage for the future of the fire service here in Huron Township. It is important that we try and secure funds to improve our fire department’s facilities and emergency response equipment. Make no mistake, we have an incredible group of men and women who dedicate their lives to protecting our community. The clear goal here is to make sure we can provide them with the necessary tools to keep themselves safe as they serve our residents, especially when time is critical,” Robbins said.

“It is not in any way lost on us as to how the Pandemic has affected our residents economically. While we realize that there is never a perfect time to ask the community for a millage, I was able to see first-hand how important our staff was to our community over the past few months as we battled COVID-19. As not only the Director, but also as a resident, I could not be prouder of how our Fire Staff represented our community during the pandemic. My hope is that as a community, we can thank them for their service by at least considering and hopefully supporting a millage that will give them the equipment they need to provide Huron Township with the quality service we have come to expect and deserve.”

The fire department is looking for volunteers to be a part of a citizen millage committee. The committee will assist the public safety department with getting information out to residents.

Residents interested in volunteering are asked to email Robbins at erobbins@hurontwppd.us

“All of our fire department facilities are in desperate need of repair and we have several expensive future needs such as our ladder truck that will need replacement in the near future. This is an opportunity to define and shape the way we deliver fire services to our residents into the future,” Robbins said. “We have a lot of work to do in the next couple months to connect with the community and answer any questions they may have. I want our residents to feel free to email or call me anytime.”

Here is the official wording on the ballot for the millage:

Seen here is the department’s 1992 Pierce fire truck (28-years-old). Robbins said, as an example of future needs, the replacement cost of a platform aerial bucket ladder truck comparable to our current equipment is approximately $930,000.00. This does not include funds that may be needed for equipment to outfit the truck. (Photos courtesy Huron Department of Public Safety)

By Scott Bolthouse | The Huron Hub
ScottBolthouse@HuronHub.com
Posted May 26, 2020

The Huron Township Department of Public safety was busy keeping the waterways in the community safe over Memorial Day weekend.

The department responded to multiple calls on May 24 and 25.

Every call involved people on or near waterways without life jackets on who had fallen in.

On May 24th at 9:06 a.m. Huron Township Emergency Dispatch Center received a call of a disoriented man on a local dock.

Reports state the male had fallen from his boat into the water and had been in the cold water for an extended period of time.

The man was transported by Huron Valley Ambulance to a local hospital. He was not wearing a personal flotation device.

A few hours later at 4:30 p.m. emergency dispatch received a call of two adults and one child in the river hanging onto logs.

Fire and police personnel responded and initiated a water rescue. Only the child was wearing a personal floatation device.

For the third time on the same day at 6:14 p.m., public safety responded to the Lower Huron Metropark’s south fishing area for three people in the river who lost their canoe.

The occupants were rescued from the river safely. Only one of the three people rescued were wearing personal flotation devices.

On May 25 at 12:23 p.m., dispatch received a call regarding four people who had fallen from their kayaks and were trapped in the Huron river near Huron River Drive and Kass Streets.

Huron Township Fire Personnel entered the river at the original location and rescued two people from the water.

One person was pinned beneath a log and was freed by fire personnel.

The two other people were rescued further down the river by police officers who entered the river to save them.

None of the four people rescued were wearing personal flotation devices.

“Our fire personnel climbed down the steep riverbank, got into the water quickly and without hesitation were able to free to young lady who had become trapped. Luckily experience and instinct took over and everyone was able to escape harm with only minor injuries,” said Everette Robbins, Huron Township director of public safety.

“Any one of these incidents could have had a much different outcome. It is interesting to note that out of the eleven people that were rescued this weekend, only two were wearing some type of personal flotation device. While the river may not look intimidating, water levels are up, and the current is flowing quickly. It is easy to lose control no matter how experienced you may be. It is important that if people choose to go out on the water, they must protect themselves. The need to be rescued could put a lot of people, including first responders, unnecessarily in harm’s way.”

Robbins said the dispatch center played a crucial role in helping locate the people who needed the help from emergency response.

“Dispatch received conflicting reports about the location of victims that had gone into the river. To make the situation even more complex, even after locating the first two victims, we had two more unaccounted for,” he said. “Dispatcher Amanda Iott did an incredible job working with on scene personnel, as well as multiple callers, to give first responders the location of the victims. Dispatch never gets the credit they truly deserve and when time was most critical, she really came through for everyone involved.”