The Millcreek Township Fire Department has begun strategic planning to define the department’s mission and priorities and improve patient and property outcomes in the township.
About 50 business, school district and nonprofit leaders, city officials and community residents served by the fire department shared their hopes and concerns about the fire department Monday during a luncheon at the Shrine Club.
Residents also identified the department’s strengths and prioritized department services.
“Given that the Millcreek Township Fire Department is a new fire department, this will really play a big role in laying the foundation for the next five years of what our strategic initiatives will be,” said department chief Michael Cliff. “And that will be directly related to what the community wants from the fire service.”
Volunteers and employees of the department will give their views later this week.
The strategic planning process is facilitated by the Center for Public Safety Excellence, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving fire and emergency services. Township supervisors unanimously approved a contract with the Virginia-based organization in September for about $19,500.
The plan is expected to be completed within a few months, Cliff said.
The Millcreek Township Fire Department was established in 2022 to support and expand the emergency services of volunteer fire departments that are struggling to respond to calls with a declining number of volunteers. Cliff was hired as the first chief of the Millcreek Fire Department in July 2023.
The Millcreek Township Fire Department also employs 11 full-time and 25 part-time firefighters and is accepting applications for an additional 15 full-time firefighters to begin responding to calls in the township in March. A $5.4 million grant awarded this fall through the federal Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response program will pay the new firefighters’ salaries for three years. The subsequent positions are financed by the municipality.
Belle Valley, Kearsarge, West Lake and West Ridge are the community’s volunteer departments.
Grant funded: Millcreek Fire Department will be adding to its full-time ranks
Contact Valerie Myers at vmyers@timesnews.com.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Millcreek Fire Department created five-year plan to best serve public
