Members of PMFD stand in front of the department’s new engine.
By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief
PERE MARQUETTE TOWNSHIP — The Pere Marquette Township Fire Department will celebrate its 50th anniversary during a public open house on Saturday, Aug. 23 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the fire station, 1040 S. Pere Marquette Highway.
The public will have an opportunity to meet the firefighters, tour the station, and see the department’s newest fire engine, 29-11, which just entered service.
While Pere Marquette Township had operated a fire department dating back to the 1940s and 1950s, that department had disbanded at some point prior to the 1970s. Among the early chiefs of that department were Robert Hesslund and Raymond Lange.
The recent department was formally established by the Pere Marquette Township Board of Trustees on April 9, 1975. However, department members held their first meeting on March 17, 1975 when they elected their officers: Henry Rasmussen, chief; Peter Mars, assistant chief; Dean Lasley, captain, and Ross Kissel, secretary-treasurer. Also that month, on March 12, 1975, the Mason County Board of Commissioners approved the placement of one of the “older” county fire trucks to be placed at the Mason County Airport to be used as an airport fire fighting unit and for use by the new township fire department. That truck was a 1942 Chevrolet fire engine.
1942 Chevrolet pumper (engine)
Kissel is the only remaining charter member of the department.
“I had been serving as a reserve officer on Ludington Police Department at that time,” Kissel said. “Back then the reservists were called ‘special police.’ I enjoyed doing that but when the fire department was formed, I wanted to be part of that. I’ve lived in Pere Marquette Township most of my life and it’s home. I wanted to serve my home and my neighbors.”
Through the years, Kissel has served as lieutenant, captain and assistant chief. He is currently the department’s training officer and is an emergency medical technician (EMT).
The member with the second-most seniority is Larry Gaylord, who joined in 1980. He also has served several officer positions, including a 12-year stint as chief. Gaylord stepped down as chief in 2024 and is now a senior firefighter. He served as assistant chief for at least 20 years.
“Back then I was working at the bowling alley in Ludington,” Gaylord said. “I kept getting asked to join the fire department. They needed young guys. But, my schedule at the bowling alley just didn’t really allow me to be a volunteer on the fire department. When I was hired in at Dow, my schedule was more regular and I often worked 12-hour shifts, which meant I had more time off. That’s when I joined the department. It just seemed like the right thing to do, to perform my civic duty, and for the most part, it’s been a rewarding experience.”
Dan Marek and Scott Graczyk are the next in line for longevity. They both joined in 1982.
The first fire station located in a garage at Mason County Airport.
“There’s only one person to blame,” Marek quipped. “That’s Ron Soberalski. He was a charter member of the department and had been bugging me to join for years. Ron was even on the department in high school. Finally, I gave in.”
Marek currently serves as captain. He also served as a lieutenant for several years.
Graczyk is the current chief. He took over when Gaylord retired in 2024. Prior to that he served as assistant chief and also has held other officer positions.
All the senior members agree that the department has seen a lot of changes.
The department spent its first few years in a garage at the Mason County Airport. The township then acquired a building on the northwest corner of US 31 (now Pere Marquette Highway) and Sixth Street, which served dually as the fire station and the charter township’s department of public works.
“We kept needing more space as we purchased more trucks,” Kissel said.
In 1999, Dow Chemical donated property for a new fire station on the east side of Pere Marquette Highway just north of the railroad tracks. A new station was built and continues to house the department. That station also serves as a satellite office for the Michigan State Police Hart Post.
The 1942 Chevrolet fire engine served its purpose for a few years, but was clearly not enough to keep up with the needs of adequately extinguishing fires.
“It really mostly served as a way to transport firefighters,” Kissel said. “It didn’t really pump a lot of water.”
The department, with the help of Mason County, quickly moved into newer trucks.
On scene of a fire.
From 1947 until 1995, the county of Mason subsidized the municipal fire departments. When the county board of commissioners decided to abandon the fire service, the county’s 15 townships and two cities scrambled to find a solution. Initially, a ballot initiative requested a county-wide authority that would be funded by 1 mill. When that was turned down by voters, three separate entities were established: Carr Community Fire Department (funded by Logan Township), Western Mason County Fire District (including City of Ludington, Hamlin Township and Pere Marquette Charter Township) and Mason County Rural Fire Authority (which included the remainder municipalities).
The fire district, as opposed to an authority, allowed for the three municipalities to operate their departments autonomously but to pool their funds to purchase equipment.
“The equipment we had 50 years ago can’t even compare to what we have now,” Gaylord said. “When I joined in 1980, I was issued hip boots, a rubber coat and a helmet. The department maybe had four air packs. Entering a building and fighting fire for an extended period of time was almost unheard of.”
Training has also improved drastically.
“It’s really a big commitment now-a-days to be on a fire department,” Kissel said. “You have to commit to over 300 hours of initial training.”
Kissel spent many years as a state certified firefighter instructor and trained dozens of firefighters throughout Mason County and elsewhere.
“It’s hard to retain firefighters these days,” Gaylord said. “We will often get a recruit and then the amount of training required will cause a conflict. Or, that person will get a job elsewhere.”
However, the “elder” members are satisfied with the current roster.
“We do have a great group of firefighters,” Kissel said. “They are dedicated and they have great ideas that help us advance to the next level. We are pretty proud of that.”
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