Natalie Wickman

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

VILLAGE OF MENOMONEE FALLS - After a staffing shortage temporarily closed Fire Station 4, a local firefighter said he'll be making himself more known to village government.

The closure happened Nov. 21, the day before Thanksgiving, when enough firefighters called in sick and couldn't get shift replacements. The station, W134 N8777 Executive Parkway, typically has two firefighters/emergency medical technicians staffing it at all times.

Village firefighter Kevin Myers, also president of Menomonee Falls Professional Firefighters Local 3879, wrote about the closure in a statement and Facebook status. He said village residents deserve to know what their tax dollars are and aren't paying for.

RELATED:Staffing shortage forced temporary closure of Menomonee Falls fire station

"It's gotten to the point where our staffing hasn't kept up with the call volume we see," Myers said. "Menomonee Falls only has 15 full-time firefighters. The part-timers are in the high 60s."

Calls to Station 4 were covered by the next closest station, which is in Brookfield near North Calhoun Road and West Capitol Drive. The two stations are about a 15-minute drive apart.

Anna Ruzinski, director of protective services for the fire department, said that type of mutual aid is common. She is also chief of the village police department, and Myers said the fire department doesn't have an official chief.

"The station used to be closed all the time years ago on a regular basis," she said about Station 4.

Myers said Ruzinski is correct, but noted that the village's population has grown substantially since then and continues to grow. It's currently in the high 30,000s, and Myers said this is the first staffing-related station closure in recent years.

"That was around eight years ago when our call volume was around half of what it is now," he said of Ruzinski's comment. "We're on par for another record year for call volume; last year we were right around 4,500 calls."

In other similar-sized Milwaukee suburbs, such as New Berlin, Myers said, they've made hiring full-time staff more of a priority.

"They're figuring out it's hard to get part-time personnel who are willing to stick around for $15 per hour when they could be getting a career full-time," he said.

Therefore, Myers said he plans to attend upcoming village meetings to make the case for modifying his department's staffing model. He knows there are funding limitations, especially from the state level, but emphasized that "something has to give."

Village President Dave Glasgow declined to comment.

"All I simply ask is that the village have an honest look and open conversation about our staffing levels and what is safe," Myers said. "All it takes are two or three calls of a critical nature and we're tied up."

The issue of village fire staffing isn't new, Myers said, and it's been brought up before. He said there was a plan in the late '90s to hire two full-time fire personnel per year for 15 years, but it ended up falling through.

Myers said Station 4 provides service to industrial parks, including Waste Management and Harley-Davidson, as well as north and east side residential areas. It's one of the village's five stations.

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