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South Haven Area Emergency Services

The Mission of SHAES
The Mission of the South Haven (Michigan) Area Emergency Services (SHAES) is to preserve life, limb and property through aggressive fire prevention, education and fire suppression. To provide the highest quality of emergency medical care with skill and compassion. To serve our communities with pride, integrity and courage.

SEE PHOTO GALLERY OF RECENT SHAES RESPONSES

SHAES News Updates

SHAES Firefighter Brian Horan, Sr. Concludes Service

SHAES gratefully recognizes Brian Horan, Sr. on the occasion of his retirement as a paid-on-call member for a period that covered 27 years.

Brian joined the South Haven Fire Department in 1980 and later SHAES, rising to the rank of Lieutenant. He also achieved EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) status.

In recent years Brian has proudly served on SHAES with his son, Brian, Jr. We thank Brian for his committed service to our community.

SHAES Drone Team Plays Key Role in Rescue

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The search for a lost child in Geneva Township had a happy ending on March 5. Various agencies, including SHAES, were dispatched to 68th Street north of Phoenix Road shortly after 4 p.m. It was reported that a three-year-old boy wandered away from the residence. About an hour into the search, drones operated by SHAES responders Steve Cavadas, Zach Kenreich and Drexal Haner spotted the child walking a distance from the residence in a field near a pond. The drones were approximately 100 feet aloft at the time. Simultaneously, a Van Buren Sheriff Department canine was tracking foot prints that led to the child. The child was returned to his home uninjured. Responding to the incident were the Van Buren Sheriff Department, South Haven Police Department, Michigan State Police and Great Lakes Drone.

SHAES Welcomes New Fulltime Members

SHAES is pleased to announce the appointment of two new fulltime Firefighter/Paramedics – Shyanne “Shy” Foster and Paul Pant.

Shy comes to SHAES from serving as a Paramedic with AMR Ambulance and a paid-on-call member of the Hamilton Fire Department.

Paul joins SHAES after serving as a Firefighter/Paramedic with the Covert Fire Department and previously as a paid-on-call member of the Sparta Fire Department.

SHAES Offers Smoke Alarm Installations

SHAES has a smoke alarm partnership with the Red Cross and MIPrevention. In recent weeks the department has been able to install 45 smoke alarms in area homes. Pictured is a demonstration showing how fast fire can spread in a residential setting.

Spread the word if you know any neighbors, friends, family that are in need of FREE smoke alarms in their home. No commitments, no cost, just smoke alarms. Well….a little bit of a commitment, you have to listen to us give our spiel about fire prevention.

Email Chief Brandon Hinz if you are interested – bhinz@shaes.org

SHAES Annual Report for 2023 Released

SEE ANNUAL REPORT

WWMT-TV NEWS REPORT

South Haven Area Emergency Services (SHAES) responded to a record number of calls during 2023, according to the department’s Annual Report.

Marking its 27th year, the SHAES Authority serves the city of South Haven and the townships of Casco, Geneva and South Haven. The department is comprised of 17 fulltime staff and 30 paid-on-call firefighters protecting 97 square miles of land and several miles of Lake Michigan shoreline from three stations.

For the tenth consecutive year, the number of calls has increased from the previous year to a record 2,679. The previous record, set in 2022, was 2,659.

“Our call volume continued to show increases in the medical area,” said executive director Brandon Hinz. “SHAES provides a service that is unique when compared to the typical fire department. Many sleepless nights, short meals, missed functions and understanding families are wrapped up in our response numbers.”

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SHAES Captain Ron Ridley Ends 45 Years of Community Service

When the call went out for additional help to staff the fire station during the recent winter-storm weekend, among the first to volunteer was off-duty South Haven Area Emergency Services (SHAES) responder Ron Ridley.

No surprise here.

Ridley has been doing that kind of selfless act for nearly half-a-century.

Later this month the 67-year-old SHAES Captain will conclude a 45-year career of service to the community. It started in his high school days in Casco township.

“The owner of the farm where I worked was a Casco volunteer fireman,” Ron remembers. “When the alarm sounded, I would join him on the fire call. I didn’t have fire gear, but I pulled a lot of hose.”

Ridley became an official member of the Casco department in 1979, rising through the ranks to Chief in the final months before Casco became part of the new South Haven Area Emergency Services (SHAES) Authority at age 40 in 1995.

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Read more SHAES News – http://www.shaes.org/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=public:2024_review