2024 was a record year for South Haven Area Emergency Services as it responded to 2,699 calls, about 20 more than in the previous year.
SHAES Director Brandon Hinz tells us the calls seem to increase every year while staffing levels are about the same as they were when he started with the agency ten years ago. So, what are the most common calls?
“60% to 70% of our calls are EMS, and that’s pretty common for areas around Michigan, and I assume nationwide as well,” Hinz said. “I think our population is aging and I think that may have something to do with our calls increasing over the year.”
Hinz says it’s not all calls for ambulance service, though.
“800 to 900 were fire-related, but fire does encompass a lot of different categories. Structure fires, grass fires, car fires, rescues.”
Hinz says the fire calls really ramped up toward the end of the year, the result of improperly maintained furnaces, space heaters, and other cold-weather related issues. While staffing at SHAES hasn’t matched the rising number of calls over the past decade, he says the team has been rolling with the punches, stepping up to serve the community.
Hinz says other highlights of 2024 are the replacement of a 27-year-old pumper tanker and the addition of some new command trucks.
SHAES was formed in 1996 to pool the resources of the city of South Haven and surrounding townships so each wouldn’t have to continue maintaining its own EMS and fire service.
