Monitor Township Fire Department

“My dad was in the military, and I grew up moving around so he could help people and be part of a solution. I’m proud to have been able to do the same in my own life: I spent 29 years in law enforcement before joining theMonitor Township Fire Department, where I have been for 27 years, acting as the Fire Chief for the last 18 years.

As Fire Chief, I am ultimately responsible for everyone: their safety, for whatever they do, keeping records, maintaining the trucks, and making sure that we’re up-to-date with state standards and education. Education is important, because along with having the best equipment, education makes sure that our guys and gals have the best opportunity to go home to their families. That's the most important thing to me. I don't take credit for anything: all the credit should all go to my staff. I show up at a scene and do my best to keep an eye on them, but they're the ones who put out the fires, so all the credit goes to them.

When I became the Fire Chief, I wanted to create a vision for the future of this department, so I set some goals: get new equipment, new trucks, and a new building. The building was the last thing on my bucket list, and I’m proud to say that we've achieved that goal. We had outgrown the station, did a lot of research, and we’re fortunate to have so much support from the community. They are the ones who made this happen. They believe in us, and we work hard to show them how much we appreciate their support.

I love helping people and making a difference through public service. Almost all of our calls come from people who are suffering in some way, and we can be there to comfort them and try to solve their problems. We try to treat people less like statistics and more like family. The greatest feeling comes from making them happy, and we get a lot of letters and comments and cards from people we’ve helped.

It's been a fun ride. I love my staff and my community, and I appreciate their support.”

— John Kramer, Fire Chief, Monitor Township Fire Department

“I’ve been an on-call firefighter for 49 years, but back when I was young, I really wanted nothing to do with fire. I grew up on Four Mile Road, and while I was in high school, two neighbors had house fires. I really didn't react well to those and I wanted nothing to do with the fire service.

But I knew the fire chief and after graduating high school, for five or six years he kept prodding me to join. Then one night, there was a baby shower in my family and all the women were getting together. I had nowhere to go and nothing to do, so my father-in-law took me to a training course he had just started at the fire station.

And here I am, 49 years later!

Even after all this time, I still enjoy it. I love serving the community the most. I make quite a few runs, medical and everything else. I don't really get into the physical firefighting aspect of it: generally I'm operating a truck on the scene, providing the hoses, and doing those kinds of things. They trust me and rely on me, and I'm proud of the fact that I think I've done a good job. I also have two sons and a nephew in the department, and that keeps me here so I can look out for them a little bit.”

–Dale Ramseyer, on-call firefighter with the Monitor Township Fire Department

“I wanted to be a firefighter when I grew up. My grandpa was assistant chief for the Bay City Fire Department, and he used to do things like take me through burned houses after they were safe to go into. It was something I was surrounded by.

But I honestly never thought I’d become a full-time firefighter. Generally speaking, there aren’t a lot of women firefighters, and I’m grateful for becoming the first full-time female firefighter here at the Monitor Township Fire Department. It makes me proud to be helping my community, and I love this department. All these guys are like my older brothers: they look out for me and I look out for them.

It’s a brotherhood here—with a sister.”

—Sara Erickson, full-time firefighter with the Monitor Township Fire Department, Bay City Michigan

“As a Captain, I often take the responsibility of trying to figure out the problem on scene and how to solve it. Whether the call is medical, an accident, or fire, how severe it is, the time of day—a lot of factors go into coming up with a solution, and things can get complicated.

August will be my 28th year. I grew up only a couple miles away from this department, so my whole family has lived in Monitor Township for pretty much forever. I started as an on-call firefighter, pretty much right out of high school, and I took every class they would let me take with the hopes that I’d be able to get a full-time position somewhere. But there weren’t a lot of positions available for a long time. Not just here, but anywhere. That’s changed recently, and pretty much everybody is begging for firefighters. A great thing about being a full-time firefighter is that it allows me to own a landscaping company as well, and almost all of the firefighters I know have something else on the side because you have more time off than a ‘normal’ job.

I've literally been on calls to my own friends and family’s houses, and it makes me feel good that I was able to be there and help them. In this job, you're able to help somebody down on their worst day. You arrive and try to help solve the problem, get them going on the right path, or connect them with the right people to care for them.”

—Joe Baker, Captain and Fire Inspector, Monitor Township Fire Department, Bay City, Michigan

“I used to work for Bay City Public Safety, and switched over to doing both fire and public safety in 2012. I retired from public safety a year ago, and now I'm full-time fire. When I retired, I wasn’t ready to stop working. I’ve been helping the community for 25 years and that was something I wasn’t ready to end. TheMonitor Township Fire Departmentwas one of the only places I would have considered working at because of its reputation. I knew some of the people, the chief, and the area, and I knew it was a team I wanted to be a part of.

If you can do something to help someone on their worst day, that’s a win in my book. When you get to a scene, whether it’s a medical or a car accident or a fire, people are looking to you to know what you’re doing and make things better.

And I like being able to do that.”

—Rich Roberts, full-time Lieutenant, Monitor Township Fire Department

“I was a full-time firefighter for 34 years, and after I retired, I came back as an on-call firefighter. I did most of the fire prevention programs for the local schools, and it was nice to have kids come up and remember me. It’s great to know they were listening! To be a great firefighter, you need to love it. You need to be willing to train, learn new techniques, and help people.

We’re a close bunch here at the station, and it’s always been that way. We’re lucky to have such a great relationship with the community: they support us and we support them. To get the new trucks and the new building, there was a millage involved, so it wouldn’t have happened without the community. That was such a success, and we appreciate the residents for doing that.”

— Jim Meier, paid on-call firefighter with the Monitor Township Fire Department

“It was probably my father-in-law that got me into firefighting. We’d go to different fire department events where I live, and one day he was like, ‘Just come put in your application.’

I enjoy being out there and helping the community. One my buddies I went to school with, his parents’ house caught on fire. It started down in the basement and we were there to put it out. You’re potentially a big part of somebody else’s life and we get to be there and take care of them. People are always so generous and thankful, and it’s a good feeling to feel like you’re helping.

To be a good firefighter, you’ve got to be passionate about what you do. You’ve got to work hard, try to be the best you can possibly be, and be always willing to learn. When I first hear a call go out, I get a bit excited with a lot of things going through my head, but as soon as the door to the fire engine shuts, my mind focuses. You get a good idea of what you need to do, and then you just get after it.”

—Noah Carter, full-time firefighter with the Monitor Township Fire Department

“I wasn’t a kid who said, ‘I want to be a firefighter when I grow up.’ I ended up working construction, driving two-and-a-half hours every day to Detroit, and I started thinking, ‘There’s got to be something better than this.’

And there was!

Jim Meier, another firefighter here at theMonitor Township Fire Department, asked me to put in an application, I did, and here I am. As soon as I became full-time and got into the everyday work of being a firefighter, I knew that this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. We provide a service to the community, we get to help them.

And they’ve helped us! We have this brand new fire station and new fire trucks because of them. I feel like we owe them everything.”

—Brian Bladecki, Assistant Fire Chief, Monitor Township Fire Department