By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Middleton Township has outgrown its fire stations. Fire equipment has steadily gotten larger, and the aging stations are bursting at the seams.
“We literally have a couple inches,” between pieces of equipment, Middleton Township Fire Chief Steve Asmus said.
“I always say we have to grease them to get in,” Middleton Township Trustee Penny Getz said.
So the township is asking its voters to approve a 3-mill levy for 15 years, to build a new centrally located fire station for fire and EMS. The levy would generate about $456,480 a year and cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $150 a year.
The township’s fire and EMS equipment is now divided between four buildings – the fire station in Haskins, the fire station in Dunbridge, the EMS station near the intersection of Ohio 25 and Ohio 582, and the new township administration building on Route 25. The Haskins and Dunbridge stations were both built in the 1950s.
“We have equipment spread out all over,” Asmus said. “We would like to have it in one location. We have no place to put the equipment right now.”
Fire station in Haskins
Fire station in Dunbridge
Township officials would like to have a centralized location that has room for the equipment including six truck bays, space for training, an area for decontamination, and a system to rid the building of exhaust emissions. The proposed station, which would sit just to the south of the new Middleton Township administration building at 21745 N. Dixie Highway, would cost an estimated $6 million.
Since township officials believe it’s only a matter of time before 24/7 fire coverage is needed, the new fire station would include living quarters. Plus, they realize the current stations will not comply with new fire rules and regulations.
“We’re trying to be proactive,” Getz said.
The site next to the new administration building was selected because of its centralized location and the fact that the township already purchased the land years ago using estate tax revenue.
“We own the ground,” said Laurie Limes, Middleton Township fiscal officer. “It’s been earmarked for years for this.”
But it’s the location of the proposed station that has some township residents concerned. The largest community in the township is Haskins, and just over half of the Middleton Township volunteer firefighters live in that village.
There is a concern that moving the fire equipment out of Haskins will slow the response time to runs in that community. In response to those concerns, the township trustees have said that one fire truck will remain in the Haskins station, until the township has round-the-clock coverage.
“There’s no intent to close Haskins,” Limes said.
The fire station in Dunbridge would close, as well as the EMS station which would be sold with the money going into the fire-EMS fund.
The Middleton Township fire and EMS departments average about 289 runs a year, with the majority being traffic accidents, Asmus said. The EMS already provides 24/7 coverage.
Like other volunteer fire departments across the nation, the Middleton Township firefighters struggle to cover daytime runs. Though the department has about 30 volunteers, there are only three who are available for runs during most days.
“We have no one during the day,” Getz said.
“Daytime coverage throughout the U.S. is tough,” Asmus said.
Passage of the new levy would allow the township to take a step toward full-time fire coverage, township officials said.
The Middleton Township fire and EMS departments cover 53 road miles, including busy stretches of Interstate 75 and Route 25. In addition to Haskins, they provide coverage for the unincorporated communities of Sugar Ridge, Dunbridge and Dowling, plus several newer housing subdivisions like Riverbend, Saddlebrook and Hull Prairie Meadows. The township also provides fire coverage for portions of neighboring Plain and Webster townships.
