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 Glen Lake Fire Department is a combination fire department providing professional services on a 24 hour/7 day-per-week basis. The department's full-time staff members include Chief John Dodson, Administrative Assistant Robert Wurst, Shift Lieutenants' Eric Dubord, Bryan Ferguson, and Bill Parker. All combined there are 3 senior paramedic/firefighters, 5 paramedic intern/firefighters, and 12 EMT/firefighters. Our part-paid staff includes 2 paramedic/firefighters, 6 EMT/firefighters, and 3 support staff members.
The daily duty crew is comprised of a minimum of 5 pesonnel from September to May. From June - August, the daily crew is increase to a minimum of 6 personnel. All crews have a minimum of 1 paramedic/firefighter and 1 EMT/firefighter assigned for primary EMS responses. All other personnel have primary and secondary assignments to fulfill based on call types and volume.
All crews share daily responsibilities for service preparedness to the community as well as maintaining their respective stations, equipment, professional training requirements, public education and safety awareness.
Response Area Demographics & Information
Glen Arbor and Empire are northwest lower Michigan rural communities located in Leelanau County on the east shore of Lake Michigan . The region is covered with sand dunes and its terrain is hilly and heavily forested. These communities have diverse local and seasonal populations that are heavily influenced by seasonal residents and tourism in the warm summer months.
The current year-round population of Glen Arbor is approximately 800 and steadily growing. The combined population of Empire Township and Village is approximately 1200. This population expands seasonally to over 10,000 residents, with an additional 1,000,000 transient visitors and campers traversing the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park each year.
The department's primary service area is approximately 75 square miles. This area includes private and public property in Glen Arbor and Empire Townships. Of that area served, 80% of medical and fire-rescue coverage lies within the 46,000 acres of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The 31 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline, many inland lakes and waterways, including just over 50 miles of marked hiking and skiing trails make for a very challenging area to provide effective fire protection and medical-rescue services. |
