By David Fleet

Editor

Groveland Twp.– On Wednesday the township board of trustees finalized a deal that would bring an emergency equipment and resource depot to the township.

The Michigan Mutual Aid Box Alarm System, or MABAS, storage warehouse will be relocated from a large hangar at the Pontiac-Oakland Airport to a new 15,000 square-foot facility to be located on about two acres of township property on the north side of Grange Hall Road just west of the overhead power grid. The building will be constructed by township builder Barry Bass and be leased from the township for $8,500 per month.

Bob DePalma, township supervisor, said ground breaking which could include Governor Rick Snyder for the facility is expected in June.

“The value for the township is to have the MABAS resources not in our backyard, rather now in our front yard,” said DePalma. “From a safety standpoint, it’s ideal and an asset to the community.”

The MABAS equipment includes mobile hospitals, base of operations centers and massive generators. MABAS is funded by state governments and designed to streamline the emergency and fire services resources across Michigan for day-to-day mutual aid. In addition, MABAS coordinates large scale events such as major fires, train derailments, tornadoes, wildfires, domestic or foreign terrorism and other events that may overwhelm local resources.

Michigan, along with Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin, have implemented the MABAS program. Currently, there are 17 MABAS divisions in Michigan, covering the state’s Emergency Management Regions: 1,2,3,5,6 and 7. Within these regions there are 250 member fire departments, an Urban Search and Rescue Task Force, Technical Rescue Strike Teams, Hazardous Material Response Teams and an Incident Management Team.