IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY, DIAL 911

Scio Township Fire Department
1055 North Zeeb Road
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48103
Station Telephone: (734) 665-6001
Email: fire@sciotownship.org

Office Hours: 8am-4pm, Monday-Friday

Fire Chief: Andrew Houde
Email: ahoude@sciotownship.org 


The Fire Department’s mission is to protect the lives and property of Scio Township residents and visitors through:

• Fire suppression
• Emergency treatment and care of the sick and injured
• Hazardous materials control and mitigation
• Outreach to the community regarding fire safety
  
  

All Scio Township residents are protected out of the one station located in the center of the Township, on Zeeb Road. The millage increase residents approved in November 2019 for fire protection enabled the Township to do some upgrades to the building, which are ongoing. We are renovating the interior and the exterior portions of the fire station occupied by the firefighters, and are constructing a vehicle storage building to free up space in the apparatus bay and store equipment that is used infrequently.

Fire Department Staff

The Scio Fire Department has twelve full-time staff, nine full-time shift personnel, one assistant chief/fire marshal, and one fire chief, three on-call, part-time firefighters, and one full-time administrative assistant. The nine full time shift personnel are represented by IAFF Local 4891 and have a collectively bargained contract. 

The millage increase residents approved in November 2019 for fire protection enabled the Township to hire additional personnel to staff the department. There are three firefighters present in the firehouse to meet emergencies the majority of the time.

Additionally, we have a 24-hour shift for our paid on call firefighters to fill. That shift is filled about 30% of the time. 

2023 Staffing (organizational chart)

In 2018, the Township contracted with Emergency Services Consulting International to study fire department operations and make recommendations, that study can be found here: Scio Township Staffing Analysis May 2018. 

Fire/Rescue Response

Firefighters respond with the appropriate vehicles when an emergency is reported. Response may include some or all of the on duty personnel, all on duty personnel and recall of off duty personnel and paid on call firefighters, or may include mutual aid from neighboring departments. Scio’s Fire Department has collaborative relationships with the fire departments of all neighboring communities and all departments provide mutual support when needed.  

The Department owns several vehicles of varying types to cover the basic needs of the Department. The apparatus includes:

• 1 Rescue truck for medical emergencies
• 2 Fire engines for fires, motor vehicle accidents, and other emergencies
• 1 Tanker, to bring large quantities of water where there is no water service
• 1 Brush truck for fighting ground cover and grass land fires

Response to Medical Emergencies

The Fire Department responds with the Huron Valley Ambulance to most medical emergencies. Often, your firefighters first on the scene when there is a call, because we are closer to our residents while HVA's coverage area is more widespread. When the firefighters arrive at a medical emergency, their role is to provide first aid and some advanced medical treatments, such as administering medicine to counteract overdoses or allergic reactions. When HVA arrives they will then provide additional advanced medical treatments and transport to a hospital. 

The State of Michigan recognizes 4 levels of licensure for pre-hospital providers, Medical First Responder (MFR), Basic Life Support (BLS), Limited Advanced Life Support (LALS), and Advanced Life Support (ALS). The Fire Department is licensed at the Medical First Responder level. Information on agency licensure levels can be found here. 

Medical treatment protocols are governed by the Washtenaw/Livingston Medical Control Authority, further information including medical treatment protocols can be found here. 

Dispatching

The Scio Township Fire Department, like all other fire departments in Washtenaw County, contracts with HVA for dispatch services. "Central" dispatch is considered a secondary public-safety answering point (PSAP), as "Metro Dispatch" is the primary PSAP for Washtenaw County, and all 911 calls are answered there. Calls for fires or medical emergencies are answered at Metro dispatch and then transferred to Central dispatch to be answered and handled.  Metro Dispatch handles most police calls in the county.