By: Eric Czarnik | Sterling Heights Sentry | Published October 23, 2023
STERLING HEIGHTS — The Sterling Heights Fire Department is aiming high in its new multiyear strategic plan, which contains a vision to make it “the premier provider of emergency services in the country.”
During the Oct. 16 Sterling Heights City Council meeting, Stuart McCutcheon, from Dynamix Consulting Group, spoke about the strategic plan for the department, which handles firefighting and emergency medical services. McCutcheon revealed stats related to coverage, service response times and more, and he added that the Fire Department “may have to start looking at additional units.”
“Service demand is going up year over year,” McCutcheon said. “You know, I tell you that at five stations and 16,000 calls, your folks are busy; they’re really busy.
“And, you know, there’s only two problems in the fire service: either you can’t get there from here, which means there’s no station around, or you don’t have enough units to service demand. And so that’s something just to keep track of.”
The strategic planning process also included a SWOT analysis that asked Fire Department staff and the community about the SHFD’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats — the last of which were labeled as “challenges.”
Both staff and community members agreed that the Fire Department’s personnel is a strength, staffing numbers is a weakness, and increased staffing and increased call volume are challenges.
City/community support was classified as a weakness, an opportunity and a challenge. Mary-Ellen Harper, also from Dynamix, clarified that the city/community support listing means that “they felt that there could be more involvement and support from the community for the Fire Department.”
The strategic plan contains a vision of the department becoming “the premier provider of emergency services in the country” and resolves to exceed its diverse community’s expectations “through high quality progressive service, professionalism, and continuous improvement.”
The plan has four main strategic initiatives: communications, staffing, resource deployment, and apparatuses and equipment.
Among the goals for each category, communications included possibly creating a public information officer job, as well as forging stronger ties between the Fire Department and City Hall. Staffing included making sure that dedicated crews exist for all front-line apparatuses for every shift, as well as improving the recruitment program.
Resource deployment included observing data, coming up with performance objectives and making sure that the right resources are allocated for service runs. Lastly, the apparatus and equipment plank stressed the need for safe, functional vehicles, high-quality fire stations and updated gear.
When the council commented on the plan, multiple council members recalled a presented map in which the northeastern quadrant of the city — where Lakeside Mall is — showed a high demand for services. They discussed options to better accommodate that area, especially once the Lakeside Mall area is eventually redeveloped into a mixed-use district full of new residents. Councilwoman Deanna Koski pondered the possibility of a sixth fire station, though some other members said that staffing could be adjusted instead.
Sterling Heights City Manager Mark Vanderpool said some of the plan’s action items can be achieved over a period of months, while others will take years to implement.
“But the important thing is, we have a strategic plan,” he said. “This will be the first one that we’ve had in our Fire Department for decades, for at least 25 years. So we’re super excited about that.”
Learn more about the Sterling Heights Fire Department by visiting sterlingheights.gov/451/Fire-Department or by calling (586) 446-2950.