Staffing hours increased at fire station in Farmington Hills

FARMINGTON HILLS — The Farmington Hills Fire Department has increased its staffing at Fire Station 3 to support 24-hour, year-round operations.

The station is located at Grand River Avenue and Middlebelt Road.

“The additional staffing will reduce response times in the southeast corner of the City and improve customer service for all residents of Farmington Hills,” Fire Chief Jon Unruh stated in a press release. “No matter where you live in the City, we want to make sure every resident is confident that the Farmington Hills Fire Department will be there quickly whenever they are in need.”

Farmington Hills Mayor Theresa Rich, City Council members, City Manager Gary Mekjian, city administrators, and Fire Department representatives were among those in attendance at Fire Station 3 on Jan. 6 to commemorate the occasion, according to the release.

It was the first day that Fire Station 3, which was previously staffed 7:30 a.m.-midnight daily, began new 24/7 firefighter/paramedics staffing.

Last year, according to former Farmington Hills City Council member Ken Massey, a proposal was made to add eight additional firefighters/paramedics, with City Council members unanimously approving it.

Massey estimated that the cost would be between $700,000 and $800,000 per year, with “no tax increases whatsoever.”

“We were able to do that by ensuring that we move money, looking at what we charge for an EMS call, and realizing that our fee schedule to insurance companies and Medicare — we were leaving money on the table,” Massey said in an interview with the Press last year. “They are willing to pay probably about $400 for a call more than what we were charging, so we increased the fee schedule. … We increased the costs to the insurance companies, and citizens won’t see that difference, because we don’t bill them directly. We bill their insurance companies. … By doing that, with the number of calls, the call volume that we have, we were able to find the $700,000.”

Fire departments in Farmington Hills provide fire and emergency medical services, as well as fire prevention and safety education, and fire code enforcement.

Services are provided by firefighter/paramedics who operate out of five fire stations “strategically located throughout the community,” the release states.