Joint EMS facility

The proposal to build a joint emergency services building to serve police, fire, and ambulance services from Tower and Soudan is a welcome step towards greater cooperation between the two neighboring communities.

With both communities in need of improved facilities for their emergency responders, a combined building only makes sense from a financial standpoint, since the cost of construction would clearly be less than to build separate facilities for each community. With the two communities located just two miles apart, there’s no excuse for each going their separate way.

But the talks now underway would potentially go beyond simply sharing the same roof. The Tower and Breitung Fire Departments are also, finally, talking about the possibility of a merger. The benefits of a merger are several, and will likely include cost-savings for taxpayers in both communities. But the best argument for the merger is that it would undoubtedly improve the service local volunteer firefighters can provide. A merged department would double the number of active members and increase the pool of available officer candidates. While the two departments provide automatic mutual aid already, common training on equipment from both departments would increase the effectiveness of every fire response. These are all reasons that support for a merger is strong among members of both fire departments.

The downsides of a merger are, well, hard to find. Mostly it’s old-fashioned parochialism that has stood in the way of a combination for years. This past week, a few Breitung Township residents expressed skepticism about a fire department merger, fearing that it could lead to further combination and cooperation down the road— as if that’s a bad thing!

In either case, there is little left to merge, other an actual combination of the two local governments, which probably won’t happen anytime soon. The Tower-Breitung Wastewater Board has efficiently managed the two communities’ water and sewer system for years. The Tower Ambulance Service is already staffed by EMTs and First Responders from Tower and several surrounding townships, including Breitung. As for police, both Tower and Breitung are served by the Breitung Police Department.

A merger of the fire departments, rather than a harbinger of things to come, is really one of the last trains to leave the station. It’s not a slippery slope, it’s the cozy chalet at the end of the run.

The two communities took a huge step forward this past month when they sat down for the first time to talk about the possibility of a shared facility and a fire department merger. Among the thirty members of the public in attendance, support for the idea was strong. Residents of Breitung will have the chance to weigh in on the idea at their annual meeting, set for next Tuesday, March 10. Hopefully, township residents will back further exploration of the idea.

If so, both communities should endeavor to maintain the momentum generated by their historic meeting last month. That way, productive discussion can lead to even more productive action.