Delta Township Firefighters - IAFF Local 2846

10/20/2026

Last night, Shift 1 crews arrived at a structure fire to find a human and an animal victim as well as fire through the roof.

The only Delta medic crew available was immediately committed to patient care, leaving them unavailable for firefighting operations. E411's two-person crew made a great initial stop with only E433's officer on deck.

Three fully dressed firefighters, two apparatus operators, and a battalion chief. That's what we could bring to a working fire. And then hoped our mutual aid partners were in house and nothing went sideways.

We are aggressive, competent, and tired of mincing words.

Relying on overtime to hit daily staffing of 11 or 12 (on a department with 10k+ unit responses a year) isn't a plan.

Playing a shell game with cross-staffing and response matrix tweaks isn't a plan.

Applying for a SAFER grant every year and hoping isn't a plan.

Asking company officers to do their own jobs and the jobs of 1-2 additional firefighters on every incident isn't a plan.

Throwing our hands up and saying it's too hard to find quality applicants isn't a plan.

Consistently relying on luck to avoid a mayday incident or civilian death isn't a plan.

At this point, it is a conscious choice to leave this department negligently understaffed by all applicable industry standards.

And it is a conscious choice to not even attempt development of a long-term plan to address the issue.

The citizens we serve, and our members, deserve better.

09/25/2026

Many of you have seen the recent article regarding our ability to manage incidents at the new LG plant. IAFF Local 2846 stands with Chief Kahler, Assistant Chief Arnold, and our fire prevention staff.

We have been discussing the unique hazards and likely scenarios here since before the facility broke ground. Our members participated in multiple walkthroughs at the facility since it was under construction. We have competent officers and capable firefighters who are familiar with the facility and its unique hazard profile, and a pre-plan is accessible in each apparatus.

While we don't necessarily appreciate the overall tone of the article, it does highlight a very real issue:

Is our public safety infrastructure keeping pace with community development?

A large industrial facility does not just create the possibility of a major incident. Any commercial development — factories, shopping centers, warehouses, senior living complexes, or skilled nursing facilities — also generates a steady volume of routine calls. These medical emergencies, commercial fire alarms, accidents, and other incidents consume fire and EMS resources every day.

And when something truly catastrophic does happen at these facilities, the resources required easily exceed the capacity of a single fire department and its closest mutual aid departments.

This Local has been raising concerns about staffing for years, as we increasingly rely on mutual aid and overtime to even maintain routine coverage.

Meanwhile, Delta Township continues to grow. Major development can bring jobs, economic activity, and additional tax revenue, but it also creates additional demands on the public safety infrastructure required to protect it.

Unfortunately, the public safety costs associated with commercial development are often disproportionately borne by individual taxpayers, not the businesses themselves. That includes many of our members who live and pay taxes in our coverage area.

Asking "Why hasn't Delta done a live exercise at LG?" makes for a great headline. But it isn't the biggest question our residents should be asking.

09/25/2026

Allison's dad Brian was our former training captain and had 25 years of service at Delta.

On Labor Day, Allison was riding an e-bike on Jenne St when she was struck by a vehicle. She suffered several traumatic injuries, including multiple broken bones involving her nose, leg, and pelvis, as well as a serious brain injury that required emergency brain surgery.Right now, Allison’s family

09/02/2026

One of our members has established a Go Fund Me for expenses associated with his spouse's terminal illness. These private donations will be in addition to any support directly from our Local and go directly to our member. Any support is appreciated.

Supporting Heather Richey and Her Family During Her Fight With Termin… Kory Richey needs your support for Honoring Heather Richey - Funeral and Family support

08/26/2026

Metro team structural collapse training 8.25.26.

07/21/2026

Beautiful day to hang out on Station 3's roof.

07/11/2026

E433 crew on a vehicle fire today.

The battalion chief pulled the line and engineer charged it. The engine company officer masked up and knocked down the well-involved engine compartment, giving the backseat firefighter time to open up the hood and front fenders with hydraulic tools and completely extinguish the fire.

Note the total number of firefighters on scene. Four. Coincidentally, four is the NFPA standard for a properly staffed engine company.

A four (or even three) person engine is *not* typical daily staffing at Station 3.

Today, the "luxury" of a backseat firefighter meant the owner of this vehicle could recover some of his possessions, and the vehicle in the adjacent space sustained only very minor damage. Had the white vehicle become fully involved, both vehicles would likely have been total losses.

Proper staffing directly leads to better outcomes.

07/10/2026

One of our own suffered a devastating house fire last night.

Thankfully everyone is safe, but the family has lost so much.

If you're able to help, please consider making a donation to their GoFundMe.

Every contribution, no matter the amount, is greatly appreciated and will help them begin to rebuild.

Donate here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/jorae-family-house-fire

Thank you for your support and for keeping this family in your thoughts.

06/19/2026

On our schedule of 51.5 hours a week, this still translates to 14,950 hours or 5.1 extra years worth of 8-hour days over a 25 year career . . .
. . before mandatory off-duty training, and before picking up all the overtime municipalities rely on to avoid shutting down apparatus and stations.

06/17/2026

Firefighter issues are not partisan.

Politicians from both major parties claim to support public safety and first responders. Voting records often tell a different story.

This election season, check out the IAFF Legislative Scorecard to see where your current representatives really stand.

The IAFF’s legislative scorecard reveals where members of Congress stand on critical issues affecting U.S. fire fighters and emergency medical workers, including collective bargaining, health and safety legislation, and pension protection.