Plymouth Township Moves Closer To Reopening Fire Station

PLYMOUTH TOWNSHIP — Three new firefighters have been hired by Plymouth Township in preparation of reopening Fire Station No. 2. The board of trustees voted 6-1 in favor of the move Tuesday, which will allow the station in the township’s northeast corner to be staffed. Supervisor Kurt Heise said at the meeting he’s shooting for a mid-July reopening.

"We reopen Fire Station No. 2 so we can save lives and protect property," Heise said, according to a Plymouth Observer report.

Fire Chief Dan Phillips said the station will cost approximately $172,800 for the remainder of this year, the newspaper reported. He said those costs would largely be paid with money saved after the township earlier eliminated part-time firefighter positions. Form a safety perspective, Phillips said reopening the station is the right thing to do.

"I'm 100 percent confident that (reopening the station) will make a difference for people throughout the township," Phillips told the Observer. "It will improve response time throughout the entire township."

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Local officials closed the fire station five years ago amid budget cuts and firefighter layoffs, but north-end residents have pleaded with the township board to reopen it, the newspaper reported. Reopening it, however, will depend on a joint agreement between Plymouth and Northville townships to share the fire station, which sits on Wilcox Road west of Haggerty. Heise said Tuesday the agreement is imminent.

Trustee Bob Doroshewitz voted against hiring the additional firefighters, the Plymouth Observer reported. He thinks the issue is being rushed and could have waited until the township board delves more deeply into its next budget plan. "I don't think it's fully baked," Doroshewitz said. "I don't think it's being done in the right order."

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