Members of the Allen County Fire Chief’s Association will be available to talk to the press about the Allen County Fire Protection Districts on April 15, 2024.
News release from the Allen County Fire Chief’s Association:
Fire Chiefs of the Allen County Fire Protection Districts to Hold Press Conference
Allen County, Indiana (April 12, 2024) – Members of the Allen County Fire Chief’s Association will be available to talk to the press about the Allen County Fire Protection Districts on Monday, April 15, 2024, at 3:00 p.m. at the new Huntertown Fire Station, 14077 Tonkel Road, Fort Wayne, IN 46845.
At the recommendation of county fire and EMS professionals, the Allen County Board of Commissioners unanimously voted on four separate resolutions that changed the way fire departments serve those in unincorporated Allen County. The resolutions expanded the existing Southwest Fire Protection District, created the Northwest and West Central Fire Protection Districts, and converted the Northeast Fire Territory into a district, which has a different governance structure and revenue opportunities.
Prior to that vote on December 16, 2022, communities were covered by several different types of fire and EMT services. Much of unincorporated Allen County was still being served by volunteer fire departments or hybrid stations using paid full- and part-time staff as well as volunteers for night and weekend fire calls. Growing county populations, an aging volunteer pool and declining volunteer recruitment, lead to the necessity to reorganize fire protection management in the region.
After functioning under the new district model for a year and 4 months, local fire chiefs see the change as an overwhelming success. “Since the start of the year, these districts have been able to add more staffing which allows the districts to staff more dedicated paramedic ambulance and staff fire trucks,” shared the President of the Allen County Fire Chiefs’ Association Robert Boren. “The West Central Fire District had a vehicle fire that was inside a garage in mid-January of this year. Due to the Arcola Fire Station now being staffed with Firefighter/Paramedics 24/7, fire trucks were able to respond out the door within 1 minute allowing for a quicker response time, which saved the home.”
Chief Boren went on to explain that the response to that same incident two years ago would have depended on volunteers thus taking 4-6 minutes for a truck to get out the door. Other areas of Allen County have seen an increase in protection and dedicated services for residents. Southwest Fire District used to depend on TRAA for paramedic response. With the recent changes in the district, residents on the Southwest side of Allen County now have their own dedicated paramedic service. Residents in the Northwest Allen County Fire District, which includes Huntertown and Washington Township, went from one dedicated ambulance to three fully staffed paramedic ambulances along with dedicated fire crews. Overall, rate changes in taxes have gone towards more dedicated resources and quicker responses. Boren explained that, “The question if the rise in taxes was necessary can be simply answered in the several homes and business that have been saved by quicker fire responses and the amount of better medical/trauma outcomes that have been changed by dedicated paramedic service throughout these newly formed districts.”
To create a stable and solvent method for providing fire and paramedic service in the county, the structure of the fire protection district was the best option. The fiscal oversight of each district is managed by a board of five appointed community members. They have the power to levy taxes within their district for fire and EMS. When community members received their property tax bills this month, many expressed confusion and concern about how the new tax impacted their overall bill.
Fire Chiefs representing several districts will be on hand to discuss how the taxes are being used and how the rates were developed. Additionally, Allen County Deputy Treasurer Samantha Chenery will explain how to read a tax statement. Media is invited to learn how the districts are tackling some of the common questions and to share how the revenue will be used in the best interest of public safety.
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