Fire/Rescue Department

The City boasts a paid on call department with 20 highly trained active members and very modern equipment. The Ithaca Fire-Rescue Department serves the City of Ithaca, as well as a portion of Arcada, Emerson, Lafayette, Newark, New Haven and North Star townships in Gratiot County totaling 113 square miles. The department provides fire suppression, vehicle extrication, emergency traffic management, medical first response and operations level hazardous material response. The department also supports the community through participation in local events and with a close working relationship with the Ithaca Public Schools providing fire prevention education to their students and medical standby at sporting events. The department is also a participating member of the Gratiot County Fire Mutual Aid Agreement and gives and receives mutual aid services with all six Fire Departments in the county.

Chief David Nelson is responsible for all administrative and operational functions including short and long term planning for the department. Chief Nelson prepares and oversees department budgets and also provides fire safety inspections and fire prevention education for the community. In addition, Chief Nelson is the current President of the Gratiot County Fire Chiefs Association and Chairman of Gratiot County Central Dispatch Authority, along with serving on the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) for the Department of Homeland Security, the Gratiot County Ambulance Advisory Board and the Medical Control Authority Board for Mid-Michigan Medical Center-Gratiot. Chief Nelson joined the department in 1981 and has served as Fire Chief since 2002.