ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Growth is good for cities, but a booming town can also mean new complications and problems for city officials and residents.
Ann Arbor firefighters have been spending much less time at their firehouses. Last year they responded to more calls for help than ever before. And this year is likely to surpass that.
“We are dealing with some larger issues that you would find in more of an urban downtown CORE,” Ann Arbor Fire Department Chief Mike Kennedy.
Last year was record-breaking for the Ann Arbor Fire Department. The department was fielding its highest volume of calls ever. According to the department’s annual report, they had more than 10,000 calls for service in 2022.
That was no surprise to Kennedy. He says his staff was on the move a lot last year.
“We knew it was going to be a record year,” Kennedy said.
Driving the increase, according to Kennedy, is the city’s development, primarily downtown.
“Ann Arbor is dealing with a tremendous amount of smaller buildings being torn down and becoming much more of a vertical city, and that drives a lot of service calls for medical emergencies, fire alarms, and elevator emergencies,” Kennedy said.
With Ann Arbor building up, Kennedy says high-rise firefighting and elevator operations are now more of a training priority.
“The high-rise firefighting is a game changer,” Kennedy said. “How you fight fires on the 10th story of a building is dramatically different than you would a single family, 1,200 square foot dwelling.”
Right now, the department has 87 employees. Kennedy says in the coming years, he will push to increase his staffing to keep up with demand.
“The staffing challenges of high-rise firefighting are very different than what our department has encountered historically, especially the volume,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy says 2023 is already off to a busy start. With the recent snow and ice storms, hundreds of calls came in for service. And he says he’s proud of how his men and women have responded to the workload.
