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Crime & Safety

Grafton's Fire Department Plans Won't Affect Port

Port Fire Department will be unaffected by Grafton's recent referendum, according to fire chief.

Plans to beef-up Grafton's Fire Department to address a growing need will not affect the Port Washington Fire Department, according to Port Washington Fire Chief Mark Mitchell.

November 6, Grafton voters approved a referendum to spend $410,085 annually for a full-time fire chief and part-time emergency medical technicians for their currently-volunteer fire department, according to the Ozaukee Press.

And although the Port Washington and Grafton fire department operate in conjunction with each other, the changes won’t affect Port, Mitchell

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“It’s not going to affect us at all. We’ve worked in a joint manner for years, sharing some training and mutual aid but it’s not going to change anything for us,” he said.

Grafton will be adding one of only three full-time fire department staff members in Ozaukee County, including Port Washington and Mequon, according to Mitchell.

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With the changes Grafton, like Port, will have a part-time, on-call department led by a full-time fire chief.

Mitchell said that with the hiring of EMT’s he wasn’t sure if in the future Grafton would be doing paramedic-intercept calls. If that were the case, it could have an impact on the Port. As of yet, however, it’s too soon to tell.

The Port department added paramedic services last year.

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