SHAES: 30 Years of Doing More
A look at where we came from, where we are today, and where we are going.
Brandon Hinz · Executive Director
This is the reading version of SHAES’s 2026 anniversary presentation. Figures, staffing information and plans reflect the presentation.
On this page: About SHAES · Accomplishments · Calls and staffing · Prevention · Finances · Our future · Contact
What is SHAES?
One organization. Four communities. A shared responsibility.
- 1996: Authority formed
- 97 square miles served by 3 stations
- ALS transport EMS
- Created by the City of South Haven, South Haven Township, Casco Township and Geneva Township.
- An Authority — not a City department — with shared governance and shared resources.
- Fire protection, rescue and Advanced Life Support ambulance transport under one roof.
Why the Authority Model Works
Four communities. One shared organization. One integrated system.
- Personnel can be deployed where they are needed instead of being duplicated across four departments.
- Apparatus and facilities are shared rather than purchased and staffed separately.
- The communities receive a higher level of service than many could reasonably provide independently.
- The model has been working for 30 years, not as a theory, but as an operating organization.
What Makes SHAES Different?
We don’t just provide EMS first response. We transport.
- Dispatch: Emergency call
- SHAES: ALS response
- SHAES: Patient care and transport
- Hospital: Care transferred
ALS transport requires more training, higher licensing standards, additional equipment and more personnel.
Our crews remain responsible for the patient from arrival on scene through arrival at the hospital.
That is a more difficult model to operate, but it is a better model for our communities.
30 Years: What We’ve Built
The original decision has aged well.
- 1996: four communities create South Haven Area Emergency Services.
- Three stations and a nearly 100-square-mile response area.
- Integrated fire protection, rescue and ALS ambulance transport.
- A combination workforce of career and Paid on Call members.
- Specialized capabilities have grown: dive, rope rescue, technical rescue and water response.
- Prevention has grown alongside response: inspections, pre-plans, smoke/CO alarm installation and public education.
Recent Accomplishments
The last few years have been about building capability while protecting the core service.
- 4 new career members in 2025
- 3 new grass trucks
- 423 smoke/CO alarms installed
- 440 fire pre-plans
- New battery-powered extrication equipment and other donated equipment improved safety and efficiency.
- West Side Rope Rescue Team established; Dive Team participation continued to grow.
- Record inspection, site-plan, smoke-alarm and rental-inspection activity.
- 2025: 1,100+ schoolchildren reached and 300+ attended Fire Safety Fun Night/Fair.
The Calls Keep Coming
2025 was a record year — and 2026 is already running ahead of that pace.
- 2,214: 2026 calls for service
- 2,099: 2025 comparison figure provided
2025 annual report: 2,920 total incidents and a 24% increase over the prior ten years.
What 2,920 Calls Looked Like in 2025
The workload is broader than the total number suggests.
- 2,021 EMS incidents
- 899 fire incidents
- 41% of all calls in SH City
- 5:48 overall average response time
- EMS accounted for roughly two-thirds of total incidents.
- The City generated 1,204 total incidents; South Haven Township 815; Casco 470; Geneva 378; mutual aid 53.
- The annual report’s average response time was 4:07 in the City and 5:48 overall across the Authority.
- This workload occurs across 97 square miles with simultaneous and overlapping calls.
Staffing: The Challenge Behind the Numbers
- 51 members
- 20 operational career positions
- 27 Paid on Call
- 4 career administrative
- Current operational staffing is in transition as two of the 20 operational positions complete onboarding.
- Paid on Call availability has become less predictable, particularly because fewer members live within the response area.
- Minimum staffing of three is not sustainable as the sole strategy for a department approaching 3,000 calls.
- About 40% of dispatches occur before the prior dispatch is completed — the system is being asked to do multiple things at once.
Why We Still Need the Combination Model
Career staffing + Paid on Call = capability and fiscal responsibility
- Career personnel provide the dependable core staffing needed every day.
- Paid on Call members expand the response force when they are available.
- The model preserves a pathway for firefighters to develop into future career personnel.
- Moving to an all-career model for the same level of service would require substantially more full-time staffing and cost.
Career: 24/7 dependable coverage; ALS / fire / rescue core; training and leadership.
Paid on Call: Surge capacity; local knowledge; feeder / development program.
CARES Data: The Community Response Matters
Early action + high-quality CPR + rapid ALS = better outcomes
- 50%: AED applied before EMS arrival in Van Buren County
- 29%: national comparison cited
- Higher sustained ROSC vs. state and national comparisons
- Van Buren County’s Utstein outcome performance is described in our CARES notes as among the stronger results in Michigan.
- Community AED use, rapid defibrillation, high-quality CPR and rapid ALS response work together.
- SHAES contributes to that system by bringing ALS capability directly to the patient and transporting the patient ourselves.
Service Happens Before the Siren
Prevention, inspections and education are part of the job.
- 440 fire pre-plans
- 440 fire code inspections
- 423 smoke detector installations
- 738 SH City STR inspections
- Record inspection, site-plan, smoke-alarm and rental-inspection activity in 2025.
- More than 1,100 students reached through school fire-prevention visits.
- 423 smoke/CO alarms were installed through the community program described in the annual report.
- These efforts reduce risk before an emergency occurs.
The Financial Model: We Do More to Rely Less on Local Tax Dollars
- Approximately 40% of operating revenue tied to EMS billing and county ambulance millage
- Approximately $3 million in municipal contributions annually
- 0.23%: municipal contribution / taxable value in comparison cited
- Because SHAES transports, the Authority receives transport reimbursement in addition to the ambulance millage.
- Those revenues help fund the same people, equipment and facilities that respond to fire and rescue calls.
- Eliminate transport and the calls remain, but a major funding stream disappears with them.
- The result would be higher local cost, lower service, or both.
What If SHAES Stopped Transporting?
The calls would not disappear.
- Same calls: Fire and EMS response still required
- Less revenue: Transport billing and county millage lost
- Higher local burden: Replacement funding would be needed
- Option A: first-response-only fire/EMS model, lower transport capability and potentially longer ambulance waits.
- Option B: dedicated private ambulance coverage, the comparison analysis estimated about $1M annually per dedicated ambulance, with roughly three needed to approach today’s coverage.
- Neither option recreates the SHAES model at a lower cost.
Where We Are Going
The goal is sustainable service — not simply surviving the next year.
- Add 4 career personnel and move toward 24 operational career members.
- Transition to a 42-hour work week / 24-on, 72-off schedule.
- Add part-time staffing assistance to strengthen daily coverage.
- Reduce dependence on overtime and unpredictable POC availability.
- Continue capital planning: finance major apparatus, purchase smaller vehicles outright and refurbish where it makes financial sense.
- Maintain capital replacement funding through 2050 while keeping municipal millage rates at or below current levels.
What Success Looks Like
The objective is simple: keep doing the right thing, sustainably.
- Fast response
- ALS transport
- Ready staffing
- Modern equipment
- Strong prevention
- Sound finances
30 years ago, four communities chose to work together.
Today, SHAES still does more — and does it together.
Fire protection. Rescue. ALS transport. 97 square miles. One organization.
Contact
Brandon Hinz
bhinz@shaes.org
Anne Wildey
awildey@shaes.org
Visit and follow SHAES’ Facebook page.
SHAES Weekly Update
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Add your email to our Weekly Update email list. Every Saturday morning: SHAES’ most recent events and a fun fact.
Events Listed in the 2026 Presentation
- Drive-thru flu shot clinic: September 23, noon–5 p.m. SHAES Station 3 – 90 Bluestar Hwy.
- Touch a Truck: October 7, 3:30–5:30 p.m. SH City Huron St. Pavilion
- Fire Safety Fun Night: October 8. SHAES Station 3 – 90 Bluestar Hwy.
Thank you. Questions? Please contact us using the email links above.