South Haven Area Emergency Services Authority

South Haven Area Emergency Services (SHAES) marks a quarter-of-a-century serving the community on January 1st. To mark the occasion, a handcrafted large-scale replica of the SHAES logo was recently presented to the department for placement in the Blue Star Station..

Retired Chief Randy Van Wynen (pictured left) crafted the wooden logo featuring South Haven's distinctive lighthouse with a lighted lamp room. He is pictured with Chief Brandon Hinz.

Van Wynen was chief during the transition from separate South Haven and Casco fire departments into the area authority that now provides the City of South Haven and townships of Casco, Geneva and South Haven with fire and emergency medical services from three stations. The SHAES was created on January 1, 1996. SHAES is on target to set a record for responses in a calendar year. The record is 2,276 in 2016.

Read Moody of the Market story – https://www.moodyonthemarket.com/south-haven-area-emergency-services-marking-25th-anniversary-year-in-2021/

South Haven Area Emergency Services is accepting applications for the purpose of creating a hiring list for a Fulltime Firefighter/Paramedic position. The hiring list may be valid for up to one year. Applications will be accepted until Friday, January 8 at 5 p.m. in the office of the Executive Director. Eligible Applicants must be Michigan Certified Firefighter II and State of Michigan Licensed EMT-Paramedic by June 1, 2021. Applicants will be required to pass a written and practical exam. Job description – http://www.shaes.org/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=public:driver Job Application Form – Download an Employment Application Applications may also be picked up at SHAES Station 3, 90 Blue Star Hwy., South Haven, Michigan 49090. South Haven Area Emergency Services is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

We sadly report the death of longtime SHAES firefighter Tom Leva after a courageous battle against cancer on Thursday, Nov. 19.

Tom served our community as a part-paid firefighter for 25 years, joining the South Haven Fire Department in 1994 and beginning in 1996 South Haven Area Emergency Services. He retired in December, 2019. In 2014 he was the recipient of the department's leadership award.

Statement from Chief Brandon Hinz: ” Tom was a good person, through and through. I never heard him say an unkind word about anyone and he was likely the most intelligent person any of us will ever meet. He loved SHAES and was our biggest supporter, bar none. Tom will be missed greatly but not forgotten. We often celebrate the lives, service and memories of our passed and retired members at the coffee table…he was a large part of that while he was with us, he will certainly be a large part of that after his passing”

SHAES staff hosted a special visitor on Friday, Oct. 30, when Governor Gretchen Whitmer stopped at Station 3 with pizza for lunch and to say “thank you” for the work of our responders during the current COVID pandemic. Chief Hinz presented her with two SHAES t-shirts, including one that the department created for Cancer Awareness Month.

A new heavy duty Rescue truck is being manufactured for SHAES by Spencer Manufacturing of South Haven. Deputy Chief Keith Bierhalter is pictured with the Rescue during its very early stages of construction. The new Rescue will replace the 1998 model Rescue One. Delivery is scheduled for early in 2021. See more pictures – http://www.shaes.org/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=public:new_2271

A veteran firefighter with over four decades of service has been named the South Haven Area Emergency Services (SHAES) Firefighter of the Year. Captain Ron Ridley has been selected by his peers for the honor a second time. He was also chosen Firefighter of the Year in 2003.

Ridley started with the former Casco township fire department in 1979. He was chief of that department when Casco became part of SHAES in 1995. He was promoted to captain in 2010.

“Ron's 40-plus year career in the fire service serves as a model for anyone looking to pursue this lifestyle,” said Chief Brandon Hinz when presenting the award at a recent meeting of the SHEAS Authority Board. “I was fortunate to work with Ron on a shift and we are all fortunate to have Ron serving SHAES as such a solid employee, mentor and friend.”

See other recent department recognitions – http://www.shaes.org/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=public:2020_annual_banquet