Public Safety
The U.P. faces different challenges than downstate urban areas face in providing citizens with quality police, fire, and emergency services.
Soon after taking office in 2003, I heard from a number of fire organizations, including the Michigan Professional Fire Fighters Union, the Michigan Association of Fire Chiefs, Michigan Fire Inspectors Society, Michigan Fire Service Instructors, and the Michigan State Firemen’s Association, regarding problems with the Department of Labor and Economic Growth (DLEG) Bureau of Construction Codes and Fire Safety. Since the responsibility for overseeing the training of firefighters and fire services was transferred from the Michigan State Police to DLEG in 2003, members of these organizations have voiced concerns to me regarding bureaucratic actions that negatively affected fire service delivery.
Michigan’s firefighters, fire chiefs, and other members of the fire services play a vital role in protecting the health, safety, and welfare of citizens across the state. I took action and spearheaded a 25-bill package that establishes a new Bureau of Fire Services within DLEG. The package will consolidate fire fighting resources and promote more effective and efficient fire fighting techniques.
The 2006 Executive Budget for the Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) called for the elimination of an ongoing MDCH contract with U.P. Emergency Management Systems (UPEMS). UPEMS has contracted with MDCH for nearly 26 years to provide training and other services to first responders throughout the state, including coordinating the education, testing, and training of ambulance personnel, first responders, and volunteers in the U.P., and conducting inspections of the state’s ambulance fleet. I strongly believed elimination of this contract would have had a detrimental impact on both the individuals and agencies served by UPEMS and on the coordination and delivery of emergency services in often underserved areas of the state. This is especially true given the long travel and harsh winter weather conditions in the U.P.
MDCH proposed hiring six civil service staffers to handle the statewide EMS training and examination duties via their Lansing office. This would have more than likely resulted in a service reduction of approximately 50-percent. After several months of continued efforts with my Upper Peninsula colleagues including Representatives Rich Brown, Steve Adamini, and Gary McDowell, the contract needed for UPEMS to remain in operation will be renewed. I commend Governor Granholm for stepping up to the plate on behalf of U.P. residents and directing the MDCH to reconsider an earlier decision to eliminate the contract and reorganize these services internally. U.P. residents in rural areas of the state deserve the same access to emergency services that are available in other communities, and I intend to continue fighting to ensure we get our fair share.
I also was proud of the efforts of U.P. citizens to fight the proposed closures of Newberry Correctional Facility, Camp Manistique, and the Iron River State Police Post. These closures would not have been avoided without the united actions of people all across the U.P., and those actions certainly demonstrate than when one part of the U.P. is threatened, we all unite to fight back!
