Fire Departments
Portage Township is responsible for
providing both fire and police protection for it's residents. MCL 41.806
passed in 1951 provides for the establishment and maintenance of both
police and fire departments; joint service agreements and the delegation
of powers. The statute, originally written in 1951 and only slightly
modified when township laws were recodified in 1989, is often referred
to as "Public Act 33" which was the public law number when it was first
adopted.
Neither, this
statute, nor any other, requires a Township to have a fire department.
While a township board has, by law, the general responsibility for the
health, safety and general welfare of the township, it has broad
latitude as to how that responsibility is to be carried out. All
townships in Michigan, have made some provision for fire protection,
either through contract, interlocal agreement, or through owning and
operating it's own fire department like Charter Portage Township.
Hurontown Fire
47890
Main Street
Houghton, Michigan
49931
Emergency Contact: Dial 911
The Hurontown Fire Department, founded in
1882, was originally located in Donken, Michigan. The present brick
building in Hurontown was disassembled brick by brick, then transported
and rebuilt on the foundation of the recently burnt down firehall. The
labor for this was provided by the Works Progress Administration (WPA)
in 1936.
Hurontown FD was
originally responsible for the southern part of Portage Township now
covered by Otter Lake FD. They also provided coverage for Stanton
Township until they founded their fire department. Hurontown FD now
covers the north end of Portage Township for fire protection and has
mutual aid agreements with the departments that are part of the Copper
Country Volunteer Firefighters Association.
Hurontown FD provides extrication (Jaws of Life)
for all of Portage Township, Adams Township, Stanton Township, Elm River
Township, City of Houghton, City of Hancock, and part of the northside
of the Portage Lake Lift Bridge. They were the first department in the
area to have the tools to provide extrication at vehicle accidents.
Hurontown FD decided to change their name to Hurontown Fire & Rescue in
2003 after acquiring a new set of hydraulic rescue tools and at that
time was responding to more extrication calls then fire calls. Hurontown
now has the state-of-the-art battery powered extrication tools made By
Hurst “Jaws of Life” after purchasing them in 2020.
There is an
honor roll currently displayed on the front of the station to
commemorates the deceased members of Hurontown Fire who have
proudly served the Department over the years.
Hurontown Fire currently has a fleet
of 2 water tender trucks, one that holds 3,000 gallons and one that
holds 3,250 gallons of water. Hurontown F&R also has a pumper/tanker
that holds up to 1,500 gallons of water and can pump up to 1,500 gallons
of water per minute, and a brush truck that holds 250 gallons of water
that responds to brush fires. We can respond to fires with
7,750 gallons of water.
According to State Law, a volunteer fireman must receive 170 hours of
training over the course of his/her initial two years of service. This
training consists of both practical as well as classroom training over
the two years and results in Fire Fighter 1 certification.
Hurontown holds their monthly meetings on the
1st Monday of each month at 7:00pm, and conducts at least one training
per month to keep them up to date and knowledgeable of their
firefighting and extrication apparatus.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Jared Ruotsala, Fire Chief -- (906) 201-2929
hurontownfire@charterportagetwp.org
Otter Lake Fire and First Responders
34830 Tapiola Road
Pelkie, Michigan 49958
Emergency Contact: Dial 911
The Otter Lake Fire Department is all-volunteer.
It receives 43% of the millage the township collects for fire
protection. The township fire millage is $1.50 per $1,000 of taxable
value.
The Otter Lake Volunteer Fire Department has approximately
25 volunteer firefighters and 7 Medical First Responders.
The
Department has 1 pumper truck with 1000-gallon capacity, 1 tanker truck
with a 2,000-gallon capacity, and a hybrid tanker/pumper with a
1,000-gallon capacity. The Department also has a four-wheel drive, 250
gallon "brush truck" for responding to small brush fires, and a retired
four-wheel drive ambulance that serves as a Medical First Responder
rescue rig for responding to medical emergencies.
According to
State Law, a volunteer fireman must receive 170 hours of training over
the course of his/her initial two years of service. The training
consists of both practical as well as classroom training. In order to
receive Firefighter 1 certification, the candidate must then pass a
state certification exam. Medical First Responders must pass a state
certification exam and provide documentation for continuing education
credits when they recertify every 3 years.
The Department meets
on the first Tuesday of each month at 7:30 PM at the Fire Hall in
Tapiola.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Anders Kallungi, Fire Chief -- (906) 299-2556
otterlakefire@charterportagetwp.org
