Graafschap Fire Department converts closet into firefighter sleeping quarters
LAKETOWN TWP. — Firefighters now have a place to sleep at the Graafschap Fire Department with the conversion of one of the storage rooms in the fire station into sleeping quarters.
The department, manned by paid on-call firefighters, now has two beds. The beds allow fire department staff to sleep in shifts at the department and be available to respond to calls quickly.
Graafschap Fire Chief Doug DenBleyker said there had been talk of finding space for a dorm but the move of one of his staff members out of town accelerated the plans.
"We just put the hammer down, and I ran down to Van Hill's and ordered some beds and a nightstand, and we found the other one on Facebook Marketplace, and we put it together in a few weeks," DenBleyker said.
Having firefighters on-station to respond to calls instead of responding from home is a boon for the area's fire protection rating from the Insurance Services Office. The ISO ratings are factored into home insurance premiums: a better ISO rating for the local fire department means lower premiums for residents.
As the department struggles to find new recruits to fill open firefighter positions — an issue that preceded the labor shortage now plaguing many sectors of the economy — DenBleyker anticipates there could be a need for more full-time firefighters or a rotating shift system where firefighters are paid to sleep at the station and be available for calls.
Saugatuck Township Fire District was able to widen its geographic pool for hiring for its on-call firefighters by converting office space into a dorm recently.
They can sign up for a shift during which they sleep at the station and are available for calls. As an added incentive, on-call firefighters who sleep at the station receive a $50 stipend for each night they spend.
Laketown Township is exploring larger, more permanent living quarters for the Graafschap Fire Dept. firefighters. The fire station could be expanded with a second story or the training room could be renovated into a dorm with a new training room built as an addition.
Another option on the table is the 1939-built farmhouse at Laketown Township's Huyser Farm Park.
"We can't wait until that time has come," DenBleyker said. "We have to have some sort of plan."
The department has three full-time positions: chief, deputy chief and training, health and safety officer.
"If we get to a point where we can't get volunteers any more, we might have to start staffing 24 hours a day like Holland does. I'm not saying it's coming soon, but if it's still difficult years from now, we may get to the point where we have to add staff around the clock."
— Contact reporter Carolyn Muyskens at cmuyskens@hollandsentinel.com and follow her on Twitter at @cjmuyskens.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Graafschap Fire Dept. adds small dorm for firefighters
