Fire chief presents 2024 annual report; department seeks congressional funds for ambulance

Chief Thorrington presented the South Lyon Fire Department’s 2024 annual report at the March 10 City Council meeting, summarizing incident counts, personnel changes, grants and public outreach efforts.

Thorrington told the council the department responded to 261 incidents so far in the year and reviewed the annual report’s highlights, including apparatus photos, organizational charts and recognition of individual firefighters. He named Alex Hanagrande as firefighter of the year and Lou Sobe as rookie of the year, and recognized Brian Hayes and Nelson Schulk for station improvements and burn-container work. He also announced Dominic (known as Lou Solve in the transcript) was promoted to fire engineer.

On funding, the chief said the department is “still waiting for reimbursement for the federal grant for the smoke alarms” and described the status as “in limbo.” He also said staff submitted a $357,000 congressional directed spending request through Senator Peters’ office to support an ambulance purchase. Thorrington thanked local officials and agency staff who provided letters of support, including Mayor Kennedy, Oakland County Executive David Coulter, and representatives from SEMCOG.

Thorrington reviewed mutual-aid activity and incident trends. He told the council the department provided mutual aid to neighboring departments more often than it received aid; when council member Dilk asked whether mutual aid occurred roughly 52 times during the year, the chief said the department “gave out 48” mutual-aid responses and clarified that the department typically responds for major incidents such as fires. He noted that medical calls statewide are a leading driver of call-volume increases.

The report also described ongoing activities: smoke-alarm installations available to residents, fire-prevention programs and a police-and-fire open house planned for May 17. Thorrington listed recent staff training and certifications — including fire instructor course completions — and summarized capital improvements such as station kitchen remodeling, LED lighting and a new roof.

Why it matters: The request for congressional directed spending and the federal grant reimbursement status could affect the department’s ability to replace or add vehicles and equipment. Mutual aid relationships and growing medical-call volumes shape operational needs and staffing decisions.

Ending: The chief closed by pointing council members to the full annual report available on the city’s website and offered to answer follow-up questions.