News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Alpena Fire Captain Andy Marceau does a brief inspection of the back of an ambulance while at work on Friday. The department needed to call for an ambulance strike team due to the volume of calls it received after the recent ice storm.

ALPENA — The Alpena Fire Department is a member of the Michigan Mutual Aid Box Alarm System, which helped secure aid when the department was being overrun with medical calls after the power went out from the recent ice storm.

The Michigan Mutual Aid Box Alarm System is an organized local, regional, and statewide mutual aid response system for fire, Emergency Medical Services, and specialized incident operational teams.

Being a member of MI-MABAS ensures that if there is a large emergency, like the recent power outage, neighboring counties and departments from around Michigan will respond with manpower, equipment, or special task forces.

The Alpena Fire Department became a member of the MI-MABAS system in 2023, and this was the first time it has needed to use it to call for help.

Alpena Fire Chief Rob Edmonds said as the ice storm intensified and power began to go out, the number of calls from people seeking medical help jumped significantly. He said that was also the case the day after the storm, as more people lost power.

Edmonds said many of the calls were from people who depend on oxygen monitors to breathe and others who have cardio systems that rely on power to operate.

He said there were also more calls from people who had suffered trauma injuries than on a normal day. The department also had to respond to other health emergencies, such as chest pains and other health issues that are common during a normal shift.

“The influx of calls from Saturday until Monday were at such a level that we were having difficulties meeting people’s needs on a sustained basis,” Edmonds said. “We chose to make a request for assistance with MI-MABAS for an ambulance strike team, and they were able to send us help.”

After the call for help went out, Edmonds said, mutual aid partners in the department’s division scrambled crews to help. A strike team of five ambulances and personnel from the Clear Lake Fire Department rushed to Alpena, as did the departments from Fredrick Township, Blue Lake Township, South Branch Township, Gerrish Township, and Markey Township.

MyMichigan Health also sent five ambulances and a supervisor Echo unit from several of their distant stations to assist local efforts.

“We had a total of 14 ambulances, including four of our rigs, ready to respond to the influx of calls,” Edmonds said. “There were 32 personnel in our station ready to answer EMS calls for services. The system worked as designed and everything went smoothly.”

As the call volume lowered, the additional resources made their way back to their own municipalities, Edmonds said.

As a member of MI-MABAS, the fire department in Alpena also stands ready to assist another community if needed. He said since becoming a member, Alpena has been activated twice but was told to stand down because of the distance between the city and the requesting department.

If Alpena does need to respond to a large emergency to help another community, Edmonds said there would be enough resources left at home to handle most emergencies that could happen locally.

“Members can only send 20% of their overall manpower and equipment,” he said. “MI-MABAS outlines what each department’s responsibilities are and what their role is when an emergency happens. Some local department may just need to bring a water pumper and a couple guys, or a larger, more specialized response could be needed from anywhere around the state.

“If there were a larger emergency, like a large fire, Alpena would also utilize its mutual aid resources in the area where other nearby departments would assist,” Edmonds said.

The ice storm in the region caused a mass blackout that impacted tens of thousands of people who lost power and internet, and a brief gas shortage.

There are still many people in Northeast Michigan waiting for their electricity to be turned back on, especially in remote areas of Presque Isle County, Montmorency County, and even in some small pockets of Alpena County.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued a state of emergency for 14 counties, and the National Guard was dispatched to northern Michigan to assist with the power restoration efforts, debris removal, wellness checks, and other tasks that were needed.

Both Whitmer and Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist toured the storm’s damage with visits to Alpena, and Whitmer briefed President Trump on the emergency and asked for federal assistance on Wednesday in Washington D.C.

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 or sschulwitz@TheAlpenaNews.com. Follow him on X @ss_alpenanews.com.