By Teddy Rydquist
Leader Staff Writer
Currently featuring 22 people, including six full-time firefighters, the staff at the Addison Township Fire Department is set to increase by one.
“The Oakland County Medical Control Authority gives us our credentials to transport Advanced Life Support (ALS) here in Oakland County,” explained Chief Jerry Morawski, who has been a member of the department since 1994 and is an 11-year veteran of the Chief position.

“They currently require any ALS-transporting unit, which we are, has an emergency medical technician (EMT) and paramedic on it at all times. Right now, we don’t meet that protocol, or that standard, so, every year, we have to get an exemption from that.
“With that being said, maybe one year they won’t give us that exemption, so, we’re trying to be proactive and we’re hiring a firefighter EMT. Typically, we hire firefighter medics here, but the licensure as an EMT is a little less than a medic, well, a lot less, so, we’re hiring an EMT firefighter and then sending them off to medic school.
“Instead of trying to find a decent medic around here, we’re going to start farming them, or internally-credentialing, that person.”
The department hoped to have their candidate selected and the role filled by Monday, August 24.
This new hire would not quite eliminate Addison Township’s need for the exemption from the Oakland County Medical Control Authority, but it would move the department closer to meeting the threshold.
“Right now, on average, we’re at about 55 hours per week where we only have one person here at the station, with part-time and using paid-on-call,” Morawski said.
“With this new person, we’ll be at about 29 hours per week, one week a little more, one week a little less. So, we’re going to be doing a little better and we’re also showing Oakland County Medical Control, with our limited budget and tax revenue, we’re doing as much as we can to cover that time.”
The station’s office manager is an EMT, but her primary daily duties, Monday-through-Friday, are administrative. This additional EMT, a new position at the station, will cost the department just south of $40,000 annually.
“We’re starting a new pay on that, $14 an hour, which comes out to over $38,000 because they work a 53-hour week,” the Chief said.
“At a municipal fire department, you don’t have to pay overtime until they reach 53 hours per week, so that’s unique of municipally-owned fire departments.”
Located at 4026 Forest Street in Leonard, Addison Township Station No. 1 opened in 2004. A state-of-the-art facility, it was paid off in 2014 and built at a cost of $1.2 million, all done without new tax dollars.

  Addison Township Fire Department, jerry morawski