Beth LeBlanc

Lansing State Journal

POTTERVILLE -- When 911 dispatchers received word of a house fire in Potterville at 10:40 p.m. Nov. 28, initial reports sounded dire.

“Oh god, I hope they all got out,” one caller said at 10:41 p.m., according to Eaton County Central Dispatch recordings.

“They’re throwing babies out the window,” another caller said at 10:42 p.m.

Despite the calls to 911, a Potterville Fire Department official waited 29 minutes before requesting mutual aid from the fire department closest in proximity to the city.

Potterville Fire Chief Ryan Lundquist called for aid from Windsor Township and Charlotte fire departments within minutes of his arrival at 10:48 p.m. But the closest fire department, Benton Township, wasn’t called to assist until 11:09 p.m., according to Eaton County Central Dispatch records.

The two-story, fully-involved fire at 104 Cottage Street would destroy the home. The two adults and three children inside the home were able to evacuate prior to firefighters’ arrival and were taken to area hospitals.

Potterville City Manager Wanda Darrow said Charlotte and Windsor Township firefighters were called for aid because both are full-time departments.

And the delay in calling Benton Township had nothing to do with a lawsuit regarding fire and emergency services that involved the township, Potterville, Eaton Area EMS and the Potterville School District, she said.

Darrow, who is also a Potterville firefighter and was on scene the night of the Cottage Street fire, said no mistakes were made that night.

“We didn’t need them,” Darrow said, of Benton Township’s fire department. “That’s why they weren’t called.”

'We don’t work well with each other'

Calls regarding the Cottage Street fire first started coming in to central dispatch at 10:40 p.m. Nov. 28, according to Eaton County Central Dispatch recordings.

The 10:40 p.m. call from an occupant of the home was followed less than 30 seconds later by another call. That caller reported someone throwing children from the upstairs window of the home. Callers initially reported everyone was out of the house, then said a dog may be inside and, less than two minutes later, reported a man was running back into the home as the front porch caved in.

Eaton Area EMS arrived at 10:44 p.m., followed closely by the Potterville Fire Department.

Lundquist said he called the Charlotte Fire Department, which is 6 to 7 miles from the Cottage Street home, for assistance before leaving his station and, after arriving on scene, asked that Windsor Township fire, which is about 5 miles from the home, to be dispatched as well.

Benton Township's fire hall is less than a mile from the Cottage Street home.

Windsor Township and Charlotte firefighters arrived on scene shortly before 11 p.m., according to Eaton County dispatch records.

Somewhere in that time frame, Benton Township’s ambulance responded to the scene without being dispatched and began helping Eaton Area EMS personnel to assess the five people who had evacuated.

At 11:09 p.m., 29 minutes after the first 911 call regarding the fire, Benton Township firefighters were asked to respond for manpower.

Lundquist said he began dousing flames within 10 minutes of the first call going out. He said the homeowner, who happens to be a Potterville firefighter, was able to evacuate his family through the upstairs window prior to fire crews’ arrival.

“I’ve nothing but high praise for him,” Lundquist said. “If he wouldn’t have had that quick reaction on this, it could have been way worse.”

All five occupants were taken to the hospital, with one adult and one child taken to University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor. Most of the family was released a short time later, Lundquist said; one family member will need burn care for a while longer.

Lundquist echoed Darrow’s reasons as to why Benton Township was not called to the scene earlier and added another:

“We don’t work well with each other,” he said.

Both Lundquist and Darrow said Benton Township has handled three fires of its own in the past two years where Potterville fire could have been called to assist, but wasn’t. During one of the fires, Darrow said, Potterville firefighters could see the flames from their station.

Mutual aid agreements under discussion

Benton Township Manager Roger Wickerham said Potterville has never approached Benton Township regarding a mutual aid agreement.

"We do have mutual aid agreements with everyone in the county except for Potterville," Wickerham said. "We have handled some calls in the city of Potterville without a mutual aid agreement. To us, the fire department is there to protect all people.”

Lundquist said, given the chance, he would have made the same calls and followed the same timeline he did Nov. 28. However, he confirmed the township is in discussions to establish a mutual aid agreement with Benton Township.

“I think we can all work as adults here,” he said.

Lundquist said the family has no complaints about how the emergency was handled. He said the city of Potterville rallied around the family and the city fire department raised money to pay for six months rent in a new home.

“The city of Potterville came together real strong,” Lundquist said.

The family involved in the fire did not want to comment for this story.

Potterville had an arrangement for mutual aid agreements with Charlotte and Windsor Township, but they were not automatic mutual aid agreements, according to Michael Armitage, director for Eaton County Central Dispatch.

Fire departments submit their aid agreements to central dispatch so that dispatchers know who to call to a scene and when.

Automatic mutual aid means the specified departments are called as soon as a large fire is reported, Armitage said. A non-automatic mutual agreement requires dispatchers to call the predetermined departments only at the request of the lead fire agency.

After the Nov. 28 fire, Armitage said, Potterville switched its mutual aid agreements with Windsor Township and Charlotte to automatic.

And Potterville is now in discussions with Benton Township regarding mutual aid, but all parties emphasized they were just discussions.

The gestures at collaboration follow a Nov. 21 Court of Appeals decision that ended a two-year lawsuit filed by Potterville against Benton Township, Eaton County, Eaton County Central Dispatch and Potterville Schools.

The Court of Appeals ruled against Potterville in the fight over whether its ambulances and fire trucks, rather than Benton Township’s, get sent to calls at the Potterville School District.

An Eaton County Circuit Court judge and the Court of Appeals ruled only the county dispatch authority could make the ultimate decision about which entity would respond.

Contact Reporter Beth LeBlanc at 517-377-1167 or eleblanc@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @LSJBethLeBlanc.