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Alpena Township Fire Department facing staffing crisis

ALPENA, Mich. — The Charter Township of Alpena’s Fire Department will be left with a staffing crisis to start 2021 if no action is taken.

After a series of retirements and resignations, the Township’s Fire Chief Dave Robbins has one full time employee besides himself in the department. On Tuesday, Dec. 22 representatives from the city, township, and both fire departments met to discuss possible resolutions.

The recommended solution includes the City of Alpena’s Fire Department sending staff over to the Township’s North Station, while allowing Chief Robbins and his full-time employee to staff the South Station. The city would be responsible for any emergencies in the North Alpena Township area.

“The Township would staff the South Station with the personnel that they have,” City of Alpena Fire Chief Bill Forbush said, “And the city would staff the North Station temporarily.”

With only two firefighters, the Township would be forced to leave one of their stations unmanned starting on Jan. 1. The station would not close, and would still be accessible to on-call employees if needed, Robbins told reporters.

On Monday, Dec. 28 the City Council and Township Board will meet to approve a temporary solution for the staffing crisis. Both departments have stated that leaving a station unmanned would be unacceptable.

Public comments are encouraged prior to and during the Dec. 28 meeting. The meeting can be accessed using the City’s GoToMeeting platform at https://www.gotomeet.me/CityofAlpena. You can also dial in using your phone at 1 (646) 749-3112 and use Access Code: 667-050-061. To access the Township’s meeting platform please use Charter Township of Alpena – YouTube to watch the entire meeting, you can also call to listen in or participate in public comment dialing 1(888)245-3477, room no. 800, password 1234.