New Hydrants will Help the Dexter Area Fire Department

Dexter Township will be making some improvements at Fire Station 2 that are expected to help firefighters and in turn the community.  

At its July 16 meeting, the Dexter Township Board authorized a payment of up to $125,000 to the Dexter Area Fire Department (DAFD) to support a well and hydrant at Fire Station 2, two dry hydrants and project management costs.

Fire Station 2 is located at 12514 N. Territorial Road. The DAFD has three stations. The other two are: Station 1 in the city of Dexter at 8140 Main Street and number 3, the Webster Station, is at 5775 Webster Church Road in Webster Township.

The Sun Times News followed up with Dexter Township Supervisor Karen Sikkenga to ask about the $125,000 decision. 

It is part of the annual budget and was also discussed at last month’s board meeting, Sikkenga said.

“It’s part of the board’s priorities of improving public safety and adding infrastructure to benefit the greatest number of residents,” she said.

It’s doing two things, according to Sikkenga:

One, it will be adding a wet hydrant at Fire Station 2 which is much needed, and Two, it’s adding dry hydrants (proximal to water bodies) at two locations in the township that are not near hydrants at this time.

“Overall, improved access to water for more effective firefighting,” Sikkenga said.

 DAFD’s Fire Chief Doug Armstrong and Don Dettling are collecting competitive bids from separate contractors for this work. The board report said Dettling and Chief Armstrong will provide the Supervisor with a precise cost estimate, and a check will be issued equal to that amount not to exceed $125K.

DAFD will report to the Board of Trustees on the status of work, including the total costs, contractors, locations, and schedules at a future meeting date.