Fire Department

The Chocolay Township Volunteer Fire Department was established in 1967 by a group of dedicated volunteers seeking to improve their community. That volunteer spirit continues today, the Chocolay Fire Department is staffed by thirty dedicated volunteers giving their time and talent to make our community a safe place to live.

The Fire Department's mission has grown significantly since its beginnings. We respond to all types of fires, vehicle accidents where extrication is needed, snowmobile rescue, ice rescue, confined space rescue, hazardous material incidents and other incidents where life safety is involved. Our Fire Department has strong mutual aid agreements with our neighbors Sands Twp, Skandia-West Branch Twps, Onota Twp, Marquette City and Marquette Twp as well as the Sheriff's Department Heavy Rescue Unit. We work and train closely with these agencies and depend on each other during larger emergences.

The Fire Department is committed to keeping up with the latest technology and equipment at the least cost to our citizens. We aggressively seek grant opportunities for the purchase of new equipment. We have been awarded many state and federal grants recently, with this money we have replaced our self contained breathing apparatus, purchased a portable generator that will operate a shelter during power outages, replaced our radios, provided wild fire turnout gear and thousands of dollars worth of smaller equipment. We have also received many generous donations from Keweenaw Bay Indian Community. These funds have helped purchase a thermal imaging camera, new structural fire fighting turn out gear, brush fire unit and many other items. The Fire Department is truly grateful for the continued support we receive from the KBIC.

The Fire Department completes many hours of training each month. We meet at minimum twice a month for training and attend many specialized classes held around the UP each year. Our training covers fire fighting, vehicle extrication, many types of rescue, hazardous materials operations level and many more topics. We do all of this on top of our regular employment and family obligations.

The Fire Department is very committed to fire prevention. We send fire fighters to our local schools each year to teach fire safety, we also conduct programs at pre-schools and assisted living facilities. The Fire Department does pre-incident planning at commercial facilities and conduct a yearly walk through of our largest structures.

Today the Chocolay Township Fire Department operates out of one station located at 5010 U.S.41 South next to the municipal offices. The department protects approximately 60 square miles, a population of around 7000, and averages 1-2 calls per week. The department consists of 28 paid-on call members: Chief, Assistant Chief, 2 Captains, 2 Lieutenants, and 22 Firefighters.

News

New Truck The department is currently in the process of purchasing a new truck. This new unit will be a rescue/tanker and will be replacing units 2143 and 2144. It will carry 2000-2500 gallons of water and seat 6. With this new unit the department will be able to provide emergency service quicker, safer, and better than before. 2144 is severely overloaded at the present time and has no room for additional tools and equipment. 2143 was due to be replaced in 2007 and is quickly deteriorating both mechanically and cosmetically. This unit is also very slow at driving and also drafting during tanker shuttle operations. The new unit will allow the department to get more firefighters on scene at traffic accidents much sooner and therefore noticeably reducing extrication time and also making it safer for rescue personnel.