Yearly Report: Busiest Year Ever in Fire Department

2012 was the third consecutive year in which the West Bloomfield Fire Department had a record number of responses.

The 2012 report for the West Bloomfield Fire Department was approved at Monday's board of trustees meeting. This report contains narrative explanations of highlights within the department as well as charts of raw data explaining how the department spent the year.  The 15,136 annual responses marked a 1.74 percent increase over 2011's total, which is a record for the third consecutive year. The previous record of 14,877 from last year had grown from 14,134 in 2010. In an October 2011 story on Patch, Fire Chief Jay Wiseman asserted that the growth to that point largely stems from West Bloomfield's senior living centers. "We have, every single day, an automatic fire alarm tripped in one of our senior complexes, and people will say those are …

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Yearly Report: Busiest Year Ever in Fire Department

2011 was the second consecutive year in which the West Bloomfield Fire Department had a record number of responses.

The 2011 annual reports for all West Bloomfield Township departments were released last week for approval at Monday's Township Board meeting. These reports contain narrative explanations of highlights within the departments as well as charts of raw data explaining how the departments spent the year.  The 14,877 annual responses marked a 4.99 percent increase over 2010's total. That's a record for the second consecutive year, wrote Fire Chief Jay Wiseman. The previous record of 14,134 had grown from 13,091 in 2009.  In an October 2011 story on Patch, Wiseman asserted that the growth to that point largely stems from West Bloomfield's senior living centers. "We have, every single day, an automatic fire alarm tripped in one of our senior …

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Police Blotter

Man in Wheelchair Rescued From House Fire; Driveway Death Ruled Accidental

Here are highlights of incidents reported to West Bloomfield Police from March 8-15.

Police and fire crews worked together to save a West Bloomfield resident who uses a wheelchair from a house fire. The blaze broke out in a home in the 1500 block of Stauch Drive around 10:40 a.m. Friday, according to the West Bloomfield Fire Department. The wheelchair-bound homeowner heard smoke detectors going off, then found fire and smoke in his kitchen. He called 911 and then tried to escape the home, where he was found by West Bloomfield Police Officer Scott Snyder within one minute of the call, the fire report stated. Snyder was credited by Fire Chief Jay Wiseman with assisting the resident from his kitchen, out of his attached garage and to safety. “The quick call to 911, the close proximity of Officer Snyder and the rapid response …

West Bloomfield Firefighters Join Protest in Lansing

Firefighters and police officers from throughout Michigan are opposed to a proposed bill that would change how contract negotiations are handled.

West Bloomfield firefighters were among hundreds of firefighters and police officers from across the state who rallied Wednesday at the state Capitol in Lansing to protest a bill that would repeal the binding arbitration law. "I’ve always been active in state and international unions, but to have everyone come together and march on the Capitol was a good feeling," said Peter Zarek, 44, president of the West Bloomfield Professional Firefighters Union Local 1721. "I wish we weren’t there with all those departments for that purpose, but it felt good." Eight firefighters from West Bloomfield, including two retirees, marched on Lansing, said Zarek, a 14-year veteran with the department. He said the success of the protest would not be known for …

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