SOUTH HAVEN — South Haven Area Emergency Services (SHAES) responded to a record number of calls during 2024, according to the department’s Annual Report.
Marking its 28th year, the SHAES Authority serves the city of South Haven and the townships of Casco, Geneva and South Haven. The department is comprised of 19 fulltime staff and 32 paid-on-call firefighters protecting 97 square miles of land and several miles of Lake Michigan shoreline from three stations. The department has 21 members who are licensed EMT-Paramedics, 1 EMT-Advanced, 7 EMT-Basics, 2 Emergency Medical Responders, and 18 who are certified firefighter instructors.
For the eleventh consecutive year, the number of calls has increased from the previous year to a record 2,699. The previous record, set in 2023, was 2,679.
“Our extremely dedicated staff continued to strive to keep South Haven safe,” said executive director Brandon Hinz. “The service SHAES provides is unique for a community our size.”
In 2024 there were 1,851calls on the medical side compared to 1,951 in 2023. Fire alarms increased from 727 to 848. SHAES has responded to more than 2,000 calls in each of the past twelve years.
There were 1,164 calls in the city of South Haven followed by South Haven township 648, Casco township 428 and Geneva township 416. SHAES provided mutual aid to other fire departments and EMS agencies on 43 occasions.
Property losses from fire in 2024 dropped to $812,050 compared to $1,583,650 the year before. Losses by governmental unit were Casco township, $83,350; Geneva township, $243,500; city of South Haven, $352,000; and South Haven township, $133,200. By comparison, the property saved from fire loss during responses totaled $4,012,816.
“Training in the fire service and EMS is the key in providing the best level of care for our communities,” said Hinz. “In 2024 our training under the leadership of training officer Shawn Smith continued to emphasize the importance of keeping our skills current and refined.”
SHAES continued a robust inspection program which made 2,214 contacts, including 813 short-term rental and 95 food vendor fire safety inspections during the year. In partnership with the American Red Cross and state-sponsored MI Prevention program, SHAES staff distributed and installed 336 smoke/carbon monoxide alarms in homes in the community free of charge.
“This is an on-going service provided to our community,” said Hinz. “A simple phone call to 269-639-1496 will result in the service being provided.” Free smoke alarm sign-ups have also been posted at area schools and VB Senior Services.
There were no civilian fire-related deaths in 2024. There were four emergency incidents in which responders were injured requiring medical treatment.
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) sets a benchmark goal of 9 minutes, 20 seconds for departments to respond to an incident. This is from the time of dispatch to the arrival on the scene of the incident by the first unit. SHAES during 2024 had an average response time of 5 minutes, 53 seconds. The average SHAES response time by unit of government: city of South Haven, 3:55; South Haven township, 5:16; Casco township, 7:15; Geneva township, 7:07.
With the addition of career staff, the department continues to strive to improve its response times in Geneva and Casco townships.
James D. Quinn, who was promoted to the rank of Captain, was honored as Firefighter of the Year. The department’s Leadership Award was presented to Ron Ridley who during the year retired from the career ranks after 28 years of service. He continues as a paid-on-call member. The department added four career members, one paid-on-call member and six cadets to the ranks.
Department members presented the fire safety message to more than 1,100 kids at local schools and sponsored a successful public Fire Safety Fun Fair event. The department also participated in the city-sponsored Touch-a-Truck event. The SHAES Honor Guard participated in several community events, including the annual Salute to Veterans. The names of two deceased SHAES members, Stan Wakild and Emil Wessling, were added to the Michigan Firefighter Memorial.
The new tanker was put into service, replacing a 26-year-old tanker. It was built by South Haven-based Spencer Manufacturing. The single-axle truck can access areas that the department’s larger tandem-axle tankers may not. It has a 2,000-gallon tank and 1,500 GPM pump. The department also replaced two vehicles for the command staff.
