The Brighton Area Fire Authority is exploring some components of its master plan where changes could be made to help them reach long and short-term objectives.

BAFA provides fire services to the City of Brighton, and Genoa and Brighton Township. The authority recently had a consultation performed to evaluate the departments’ operations, response times and planning and administrative functions. It was determined BAFA is well within acceptable practices for some components; however a list of recommendations from the consultation firm identified a few areas for them to look into.

BAFA Fire Chief Mike O’Brian says one of the major items is station ownership. The authority has formal lease agreements for each of its five stations with the respective communities, but is interested in possibly transferring ownership from the municipalities to BAFA. O’Brian says the authority would work with the communities to determine if changing ownership would be mutually beneficial. The intent is for BAFA to be able to improve, modify or even re-locate stations in order to provide the best possible service.

Other recommendations the authority received from the consultation firm were to evaluate and stay on top of current trends for recruiting and training, remain financially responsible and develop a long-term solution for funding infrastructure improvements and potentially new fire station locations. O’Brian says the process has created a great discussion with the member communities to make sure residents are provided with the best service possible.

O’Brian says there is a desire for the authority to have long-term training capabilities for firefighters in their jurisdiction and plans to begin looking at costs and locations. The next step is for BAFA to update its strategic plan to address any concerns and to see how the issues can be incorporated into the upcoming budget cycle. (DK)