On Jan. 1, the unincorporated areas of Bloomington Township and Van Buren Township officially became part the Monroe Fire Protection District.
Fire district Public Information Officer Jason Allen said the goal of the merger is to be able to fully staff fire stations in the busier parts of the county.
“So, as this grows, what we are doing is increasing our staffing and increasing our station around the county," he said.
Now, the three fire houses in unincorporated Bloomington and Van Buren Townships will be staffed only by the Monroe Fire Protection District.
Allen said the target response time for MFPD fire and EMS crews is six to nine minutes, and it’s hard to hit that benchmark in more rural parts of the county.
That’s why by this time next year, the fire district will have also absorbed Washington, Salt Creek, Polk and Benton Townships – areas where there are very small or no local fire stations.
