CHAMPION — Township trustees voted Tuesday on a new mutual aid policy that will have neighboring communities paying a fee if the Champion Fire Department is understaffed and asked to assist another community.

Trustees said the new policy will take effect April 1 and is being done because Champion’s department is often understaffed and is asked to assist neighboring departments with even less staffing.

Trustees passed the policy in a 3-0 vote and said while they want to be good neighbors, they cannot put the safety of taxpayers in Champion at risk if there is limited coverage at the township fire department. They said they recognize the importance of regional cooperation and are committed to providing emergency medical services to mutual aid partners when resources are available and when such assistance does not compromise the safety or essential operations in Champion.

Trustee Tom Jeffers said the fire department has been answering a lot of mutual aid calls in neighboring communities such as Bristol and Warren townships, but because of limited coverage on some shifts at the Champion department, continuing the amount of mutual aid may not be possible.

“If we don’t have enough staff in Champion to provide coverage in our township, we may not be able to respond to the calls in other communities. We can’t put our township in jeopardy or compromise the safety of our residents,” Jeffers said.

Trustees said Champion residents pay taxes for fire and emergency medical service and they should be the top priority for emergency calls.

The new policy states that prior to responding to any mutual aid requests, the on-duty shift officer shall evaluate current staffing level, apparatus availability and ongoing or anticipated emergency activity within Champion. The department will not respond to mutual aid requests when staffing levels fall below the established minimum standard required to safely and effectively protect the township.

Jeffers said many other fire departments also are facing challenges in getting coverage at their fire stations because they also are understaffed or have no staff at all on some shifts.

NEW FEES

The new policy will require an emergency medical service agreement in which Champion will become a provider of EMS for that township. They have such a contract with Southington, which pays $40,000 annually for Champion to respond to its EMS calls. That contract runs through 2027.

Under the new policy, Champion will bill the medical insurance of patients for the medical care and transport provided. The township also has the ability to invoice the other township for medical assist fees of $285 and the EMT assist fee of $150 per occurrence when the fire department is understaffed.

If Champion is understaffed and is able to respond to other communities, Champion will bill that township a fee of $750 per transport and $100 for non-transport calls.

Jeffers said the Champion Fire Department tries to have two full-time and two part-time staff at the station per shift, but that is not always possible because part-timers work full-time jobs elsewhere.

Information on the new policy will be sent to other communities later this month.

Jeffers said Champion wants to be a good neighbor and help provide mutual aid when it can, but if there is only one or two people at the station, a decision will need to be made if the department can leave for the call.

Trustee Chairman Doug Emerine said some neighboring fire departments only provide coverage at their departments 50% of the time and Champion can’t be their solution for not being staffed since Champion also is understaffed at times.

“There is no single solution to this problem. We will not turn our backs on our neighbors, but protecting our own residents is important. We can’t have all our resources out of our township if we get calls here. We have to serve Champion first and be available to taxpayers before other communities,” Emerine said. “Being understaffed is a problem everywhere you go.”

Emerine said when mutual aid started years ago, it was for fire mutual aid and now it has become more for medical calls. He said often the department does transports to St. Joseph Warren Hospital, which can lead to a big chunk of time being used if the emergency department is busy.

Jeffers said the Warren Fire Department does not go out of the city limits on calls.

Emerine said Champion does rely at times on neighboring communities for mutual aid, which is appreciated. He said in February, Champion provided 30 mutual aid calls to other communities and received three mutual aid calls from other communities.

Emerine said as a single-building fire department, the township is among the busiest for calls in the county

Champion has placed a 2.65-mill, additional five-year levy for providing and maintaining fire and emergency medical service protection on the May 5 ballot to raise funds for staffing at the fire department.

FORMER SCHOOL PROPERTY

In other business, trustees met in executive session on sale of property.

Emerine said trustees are looking at options for the former Central Elementary School property off state Route 45, which the township owns.

He said the soccer league and other private youth sports use the land for games, but they can be relocated if the township does sell it. Trustees said township property south of the Champion school complex that is being considered for a park could be a possible location for the soccer league.

Emerine said it would cost $80,000 to make infrastructure improvements, such as sewers and waterlines, on that property.

“We want to do what is best for everyone in the township,” Emerine said.

He said at one time there was discussion to locate the fire department at the former school site, but the current fire department is more centrally located.