February 1, 2021
South Haven Area Emergency Services responded to a record number of calls during 2020 according to the department’s Annual Report. They were called out 2,358 times last year compared to 2,171 in 2019 and the old record was 2,276 in 2016. Executive director Brandon Hinz says there was a “significant increase” in medical related calls as those were 1,730 compared to 1,470 in 2019. Fire alarms, however, dropped to 628 from 701. Property losses from fire totaled $422,600, a significant decline from the $1,872,463 reported in 2019. There were no civilian fire-related injuries or deaths in 2020. The department was again busy in the area of water-related incidents on Lake Michigan and in the Black River. There were three drownings and 10 water related rescues. SHAES, which marks its 25th year in 2021, is comprised of 15 fulltime staff and 32 paid-on-call firefighters protecting 121 square miles.
January 23, 2021
South Haven Area Emergency Services has put its commitment to public safety into art with some new murals. SHAES says two of its fire trucks and the apparatus room at station 3 now have the murals painted on them. The art work shows a bald eagle swopping into the scene of a fire clutching a fire axe and a fire hose. The original mural was created by retired deputy chief Tony Marsala and current deputy chief Keith Bierhalter. The three painted on SHAES property were made possible through memorial donations in honor of deceased firefighters. The murals were adapted for placement on the trucks by Anchor Signs of Benton Harbor.
South Haven Area Emergency Services has put its commitment to public safety into art with some new murals. SHAES says two of its fire trucks and the apparatus room at station 3 now have the murals painted on them. The art work shows a bald eagle swopping into the scene of a fire clutching a fire axe and a fire hose. The original mural was created by retired deputy chief Tony Marsala and current deputy chief Keith Bierhalter. The three painted on SHAES property were made possible through memorial donations in honor of deceased firefighters. The murals were adapted for placement on the trucks by Anchor Signs of Benton Harbor.
Allegan County Sheriff s Department patch (courtesy of Allegan County Sheriff s Department)
HOLLAND (WHTC-AM/FM) An unidentified person was critically injured in a Casco Twp. crash on Friday, Jan. 15, 2021, according to Allegan County Sheriff’s Lt. Brett Ensfield.
Police and South Haven Area Emergency Services were called to Blue Star Highway and North Shore Drive just before midnight after a single-vehicle crash.
Investigators believe the vehicle had been northbound on Blue Star Highway, but the driver lost control, hitting a sign in the median, with the vehicle rolling at least once, ejecting the driver.
Police found no witnesses to the crash. The driver, whose identity is being withheld, went by ambulance to an area hospital in critical condition, according to Ensfield.
CASCO TWP. — A single-vehicle rollover crash late Friday resulted in the driver being ejected and being sent to the hospital in critical condition.The Allegan County Sheriff’s Office responded shortly before midnight Friday, Jan. 15, to the area of Blue Star Highway and North Shore Drive.The preliminary investigation determined the vehicle was traveling northbound on Blue Star Highway when police say the driver lost control of the vehicle driving into the median, striking a sign,