Rural fire/rescue services challenged

In a medical emergency, people generally want whichever emergency service they call to get to the scene fast, but ambulances in rural areas face special challenges to help residents.

The biggest obstacle for fire and rescue stations in rural areas is the distance between someone in need and the station.

“We have seven different fire and rescue departments, but there is one department, for instance, that handles four townships,” said the director of the Leelanau County Office of Emergency Management, Matt Ansorge.