Highland Township Fire Station 2 sat empty of engines Sunday afternoon after three of the department's four trucks broke down, forcing crews to briefly shut the station's doors. The closure, the first of its kind this year for the department, lasted only until Monday afternoon, when one truck returned to service — but it exposed just how thin the margin has become for a department already fighting to convince voters to fund its future.
Trucks Down, Parts Scarce
Resident William Dillon said he noticed something was off when he saw no fire engines or trucks at Station 2, located at 2550 E. Wardlow Road, according to WXYZ 7 News Detroit. Fire Chief Nicholas George said the department needed a replacement module for one of the trucks, and that obtaining parts has grown harder and slower since the COVID-19 pandemic, with quality declining even as wait times stretch on, per the same report. Despite the equipment shortage, the department still managed to respond to one call in just 91 seconds before the station reopened.
The breakdown wasn't an isolated mechanical hiccup. Nationwide, fire departments are contending with an apparatus supply chain crisis in which new pumper engine prices have more than doubled since 2020 to over $1 million, with delivery wait times stretching up to 4.5 years, according to the International Association of Fire Fighters. Post-pandemic disruptions and private-equity consolidation among vehicle builders have forced departments like Highland's to keep aging trucks running well past their prime. By August, more than 60 U.S. cities, counties and fire departments had joined federal antitrust lawsuits against the three manufacturers that control over 70% of the fire truck market, alleging the consolidation of builders like REV Group, Oshkosh and Rosenbauer inflated prices and delayed parts, as reported by Stateline.
A Budget Stretched Thin
Chief George said department funding simply isn't keeping pace with inflation, and the numbers back him up: a firefighter's full uniform and accessories cost about $6,000 in 2020 but run roughly $22,000 in 2026, per the WXYZ report. The department did land a federal grant worth more than $700,000 to purchase breathing tanks, and separately received a $14,320 grant from Enbridge in July to buy multi-gas monitors capable of detecting five atmospheric hazards, including carbon dioxide, according to the Oakland County Times. Those monitors are meant to protect firefighters from toxic fumes given off by hazards like swollen lithium-ion batteries, but grants alone can't cover the department's daily operating costs.
Staffing is just as fragile as the fleet. As of August, the department operated with 26 firefighters, and George warned that failing to secure updated millage funding risks losing trained personnel to roughly 30 other Michigan fire departments actively hiring, according to WHMI. That competition reflects a persistent statewide recruitment shortage for certified EMTs and paramedics. Township Supervisor Rick Hamill has pointed out that Highland's population skews older, with an average age of 60 or above, driving sustained daily demand for emergency medical calls and fall responses — the bulk of what suburban departments serving older residents actually handle, per WHMI's reporting.
Second Try at the Ballot
Voters will decide in November whether to approve a 2.32-mill Fire and EMS proposal — a renewal combined with a 0.47-mill increase — after a similar public safety millage narrowly failed in the August 4 primary. The increase would cost an average homeowner about $67 more per parcel each year, and the funds are intended primarily for staffing retention. Highland Township wasn't alone in that primary defeat: at least five Metro Detroit communities, including Brandon, Independence, Orion and Sumpter townships, saw public safety millages voted down, many of them renewals meant to keep pace with rising equipment and wage costs, according to FireRescue1.
Resident Cindy Sherwood said voters will be weighing the township's finances and how its assets have been spent before casting ballots in November, per WXYZ. Dillon, who first flagged the empty station, said he supports renewing the millage but wants more information about the proposed increase before deciding. Township officials held a Fire Millage Community Information Night on September 23 at Fire Station 1 to field resident questions about equipment spending, and the fire department is scheduled to hold another information session from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, October 3, at the Highland Farmer's Market at 205 N. John Street.
The station closure follows other recent emergencies that have put Highland Township's fire crews to the test, including a fatal water rescue in August in which a 70-year-old man drowned pinned between a dock and boat, and a vehicle crash last week in which a driver plowed into a Highland Township home along M-59. Highland Township covers 36.2 square miles of western Oakland County and was home to 19,172 residents as of the 2020 U.S. Census, a geographic spread that makes reliable station coverage and working trucks essential to keeping response times fast.
