Troy Pioneers a Unique Approach for Urban Fire Departments

In case you missed it, check out the article Troy's Hybrid Force Keeps Fire Costs in Check by Ted Roelofs in Bridge Magazine. Here's an excerpt...

Troy, an Oakland County city of 80,000, has pioneered an approach unique in Michigan for urban fire departments. Its department relies on a force of about 170 volunteers, augmented by 10 career firefighters. With six stations, it reaches 87 percent of fires within 10 minutes. Troy earns a fire protection rating of 3 from the Insurance Services Office, a 1 to 10 rating scale used by insurers in which 1 is ranked highest. It does this for $53 per capita, far below the cost of neighboring departments with full-time fire staffs such as Southfield ($203 per capita) or West Bloomfield ($141 per capita).