March 27, 2023 Wind Lake Fire Chief Justin Lyman said it’s sad, but officers knew their future was bleak.
By Scott Williams Source The Journal Times, Racine, Wisc. (TNS) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Mar. 24—TOWN OF NORWAY — After 75 years of public service, the Wind Lake Volunteer Fire Company is preparing to cease operations and be replaced by a new fire department created by the town.
Leaders of the privately owned fire company say they no longer can sustain their organization in the face of growing economic pressures and a dwindling supply of volunteer firefighters.
Norway town officials have agreed to start a taxpayer-funded fire department using personnel, equipment and facilities of the Wind Lake fire company, in a deal being worked out between the two sides.
It is the latest example of old-style volunteer fire departments struggling to keep going in a changing world where fewer and fewer people are joining such operations purely in the spirit of civic duty.
Officials say Norway’s new department is being launched separately from another initiative under consideration with neighboring communities to perhaps create a regional fire department to streamline service in several municipalities.
Wind Lake Fire Chief Justin Lyman said the future of his company was in doubt, so leaders approached Norway town officials about taking over the operation and making it part of the town government.
Watching the old volunteer company vanish into the history books will be emotional, Lyman said. But the nonprofit organization likely was not going to survive much longer one way or another, he said.
“We took a long, hard look at ourselves,” Lyman said. “It’s sad. It hurts.”
If details can be worked out with the town, the fire company will close its doors effective July 1 and become part of the town’s new full-time fire department.
The two sides have worked out a tentative agreement after discussions began about a year ago.
Town Chairwoman Jean Jacobson said that while officials have no complaints about service from the Wind Lake company, the town has relied on other nearby fire departments from some ambulance calls — an arrangement that no longer is acceptable.
Jacobson said the town’s new fire department will provide a level of service that Norway’s estimated 8,000 residents have come to expect in fire protection and emergency medical service.
“They want qualified people to react in an extremely timely manner,” she said.
Compared with costs of $270,000 a year to contract with Wind Lake, the town’s new fire department is projected to cost between $375,000 and $400,000 a year.
The town already has rolled back its property tax collections for fire service, instead adding a $200 surcharge on each homeowner’s 2023 tax bill to raise money for the transition to a new department.
“It’s going to take more money, of course,” Jacobson said. “It’s just a sign of the times.”
Fire departments throughout Racine County and beyond in recent years have grappled with a declining base of community volunteers committed to responding in times of emergency.
The Wind Lake Volunteer Fire Company was one such volunteer-based organization when it got started in 1947. Today, the operation based at 7857 S. Loomis Road is down to about 30 firefighters, paramedics and other staff.
Hannah Carter, a paramedic who joined the department a year ago, said she and others are coming to grips with the fact that they are probably among the last members of the company.
“It’s a lot of history,” she said. “It’s kind of cool to think of.”
Lyman said any current employee or volunteer who wants to remain involved will have a chance to join the town’s new fire department.
Town officials also are working with state regulators to secure the necessary emergency medical service certification to operate the new ambulance service.
Although details have not been finalized, the agreement with Wind Lake calls for the town to assume ownership of the fire company’s equipment, vehicles and property.
Town of Norway Administrator Tom Kramer said discussions are continuing to complete the takeover deal.
“We’re going to look at how can we work together to make this work,” Kramer said.
Once the town’s new fire department is in place, talks will continue about possibly creating a regional fire department with neighbors such as Rochester and Waterford. County administrators have encouraged such collaboration among neighbors.
The Waterford Fire Department has been handling some ambulance calls in Norway, although the response times from such a distance have not been satisfactory.
One benefit of having a fire department run by town government, Jacobson said, is that firefighters and paramedics can focus on their jobs while town staff handles administrative work.
Referring to the public safety professionals, she said, “They can take care of what they’ve been trained to do.”
Lyman said he feels fortunate to have the Town of Norway as a partner in creating a new department to succeed the Wind Lake company. Under different circumstances, the company could have ceased operations in a crisis or an uncontrolled shutdown, he said.
But now the organization, Lyman said, is enjoying a sense of control about its destiny, with the support of town officials.
“We’re both in this together,” he said. “We’ve got the same skin in the game.”