SN 3-23-2024

The Sun and News, Saturday, March 23, 2024/ Page 3

New lieutenant named, two complete

black helmet training at Thornapple Fire

Greg Chandler
Staff Writer
Thornapple Township Fire
Department recently promoted
one of its firefighters to a lieu-
tenant’s position while two
other firefighters received
their black helmet to signify
they have completed required
training for an increased role.
Bryn Lymburner, who has
been part of the department
since September 2022, is now
a lieutenant after a pinning
ceremony at a recent Township
Board meeting. Lymburner’s
wife, Jessica, and parents par-
ticipated in the ceremony.
“He hired in shortly after I

did,” Thornapple Chief Bill

Richardson said. “In June of

last year, (he) pretty much had

to take on the role as lieutenant

• all of the responsibility with
  none of the authority. He’s
  done a great job since then.”
  Lymburner was the only
  firefighter to test for the lieu-
  tenant’s position from within
  the department, Richardson
  said.
  “So many people on shift
  respected that he’s been doing
  the job, and he should be the
  one to have that position,” he
  said.
  Lymburner has been a para-
  medic for almost 10 years, and

previously worked in Grand

Rapids at an ambulance ser-

vice there, Richardson said.

“He’s well-seasoned. He

holds my hand when I work

on the ambulance with him.

We’ve done a lot of shifts

together over the last few

months because of staffing,”

the chief said.

Lymburner holds a fire sci-

ence certificate from Lake

Superior State University in

Sault Ste. Marie.

“You get this badge, you

gain a little extra weight,

because (of) the responsibility

behind having the badge,”

Richardson said. “Now he’s

going to be responsible for

going into fires and leading

some of our junior firefighters

... that don’t have that experi-

ence. He’s not only responsi-

ble for himself and the citizens

of this community, but he’s

also responsible for the mem-

bers of the department that

he’s going to (lead).”

In addition, Shelby England

and Jon Wallace received their

black helmets for completing

their probationary require-

ments.

“I’m very proud of how

hard these two have worked,”

Richardson said.

England joined the

Thornapple department in

2021, works as a firefighter

and emergency medical tech-

nician and is now attending

paramedic school with a pro-

jected graduation of March

2025.

“He comes in, and he

doesn’t care if he’s scrubbing

floors or pulling a hose. He’s

ready to come in and come to

work. He’s excited every day.

I wish I could have 10 more of

him,” Richardson said.

“He’s always eager to work,

(whether it’s) 4 o’clock in the

morning, 4 o’clock in the

afternoon. You get the same

work ethic out of him.”

Wallace comes to the

Thornapple department with 14

years of past firefighting experi-

ence, nine of them in Rockford

and five more at Cutlerville. He

joined the department in

February of last year.

“He came with a wealth of

experience. He’s got rope-res-

cue (experience), hazmat

operations (experience) and a

myriad of other certificates in

firefighting that he’s obtained

over the years,” Richardson

said.

Wallace earned his EMT

certification in 2020 and holds

a master’s degree in manage-

ment. He worked through his

probationary objectives at

Thornapple within a year —

“which is pretty incredible, to

get through it, that quickly.”

“He’s well-educated. He’s a

great asset to the department.

Everyone enjoys having him

around,” Richardson said.

work,” Heiss wrote in an

email.

The organization’s first

project, in 2014, was deco-

rated doors that were created

by both businesses and indi-

vidual artists.

“The doors were displayed

throughout the community

and a map was created to

help people find them all,”

Heiss wrote.

Since then, Art In

Caledonia has done other

community projects, such

as quilt shows and art proj-

ects using recycled materi-

als.

“It really is all about the

art and the people who create

it,” Heiss wrote.

The postcard display and

sale began with 10 artists and

101 cards in its first year and

has grown ever since, Heiss

wrote.

Visitors to the library can

reserve their favorite post-

cards via email, and then pay

for them and pick them up on

Saturday, April 13, from 1 to

4 p.m. Postcards are $

apiece with all proceeds

going to the artist. You can

reserve a card by emailing

[email protected] and

include the postcard number

and name of the artist.

Unreserved postcards can

be purchased on April 13 by

simply removing the unre-

served postcard from the dis-

play and bringing $20 to pay

to an Art In Caledonia mem-

ber.

The postcards can be

viewed during regular library

hours. They are Mondays

from 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.,

Tuesdays and Thursdays

from noon to 8 p.m., and

Wednesdays, Fridays and

Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. to

5 p.m.

POSTCARD, continued from page 1

Yankee Springs Bible Church

8900 Duffy Road, Middleville MI 49333

Please join us...

http://www.yankeespringsbiblechurch.org

~ Palm Sunday Service, March 24th • 10am ~

~ Good Friday Service, March 29th • 7pm ~

Resurrection Sunday Service

March 31st • 10am

The display of postcards was put together by Art

In Caledonia. It’s the seventh year for the event.

Caledonia Twp. fire responds to

increased calls per annual report

Greg Chandler
Staff Writer
The Caledonia Township
Fire Department saw a slight
increase in the number of calls
it responded to in 2023.
In his annual report to the
Township Board Wednesday
night, Fire Chief Scott Siler
reported that his department
responded to 1,219 calls last
year, a 2.3 percent increase
from the year before, but still
below the all-time high for calls
from 2021, when the depart-

ment handled 1,307 calls.

The department saw a signifi-

cant increase in the number of

calls in both the northwest and

southwest portions of the town-

ship. In the area north of 84th

Street and west of the Thornapple

River, the number of calls the

department handled spiked 31.

percent from 379 in 2022 to 500

last year. The increase wasn’t

quite as pronounced in the area

south of 84th and west of the

river, where calls increased by 10

percent from 398 in 2022 to 438

last year.

“It’s where all the (residen-

tial) developments are going

in. Where we have all the

growth is in those two quad-

rants,” Siler said.

The vast number of calls –

75 percent to be exact, or 733

calls – were for medical emer-

gencies. The department han-

dled 30 fires for the year, rep-

resenting 3 percent of total

calls for the year, Siler said.

The department also saw an

increase in the number of

overlapping calls – calls that

come in while crews are

already responding to another

call. That’s when the depart-

ment relies on part-time

on-call firefighters to pick up

the slack. The department had

243 overlapping calls in 2023,

compared to 184 the year

before, Siler said.

The Caledonia Township

Fire Department has eight full-

time firefighters and 15 part-

time on-call firefighters, Siler

said.

From left to right Bryn Lymburner, Chief Bill
Richardson, Shelby England and Jon Wallace of the
Thornapple Township Fire Department. (Photo by
Greg Chandler).