Courtland Fire Department

History: Fire protection services were initially provided to Courtland Township by the Harvard Fire Department . In the spring of 1991, Courtland’s board of trustees voted to start their own fire department. Mickey Davis who at the time was serving as Oakfield Township’s part-time fire chief was chosen as Courtland’s part-time fire chief. This served the residents of Oakfield and Courtland until 2012 when the board chose to make the role of fire chief a full time position. Chief Davis retired in 2016, but his capable deputy, Steve Mojzuk has now assumed his new role as Chief.

In those early years we acquired some rather old but still very functional trucks which served the department well. In the beginning we had just one 500-gallon fire engine with which to fight fires (a 1970 classic) and a 2,000-gallon tanker for hauling water. Rockford Ambulance also donated an old ambulance to us for our medical and rescue calls. Much has changed since those early years!

Firefighters: With the exception of Chief Davis all firefighters are paid on-call volunteers meaning they are paid if they respond. Our roster of volunteers typically ranges between 14–16 people. In addition to being qualified as firefighters all of our volunteers are also licensed by the State of Michigan as medical first responders.

We are always happy to accept applications for firefighters/first responders. Applications may be obtained from the township hall. To qualify applicants must reside in the township, be 18 or older, have completed high school, have a valid Michigan drivers’ license, and pass both a criminal background check and a physical. Applicants are required to complete fire school within 2 years, and must also obtain their first responder license. Even after becoming fully qualified, training continues and is required of everyone at least once each month. First responders must also meet state continuing educational requirements.

Fire Stations: We are fortunate to have two fire stations within our township. Station 1 is located adjacent to the township hall east of the intersection of Myers Lake Avenue and 14 Mile Road. Station 2 was built in 2008 and is located at the intersection of Myers Lake Avenue and Peninsula Drive just west of Myers Lake.

Station 1 is the department’s primary fire station. It houses multiple fire apparatus including a 2000 Freightliner fire engine capable of delivering 1,250 gallons/minute, a 3,800-gallon water tanker, a rescue vehicle (purchased in 2013), a grass truck, and a utility truck. Station 2 has a pumper, a rescue vehicle, and a grass truck. Firefighters run out of both stations.

Both fire stations are equipped with emergency generators. In case of a prolonged power outage, water and emergency shelter can be made available to our residents at either fire station.

Outdoor Emergency Sirens: The township now has 5 emergency warning sirens. These are automatically tested at noon on the first Friday of every month from April - October. They are located at or near Braeside Golf Course (11 Mile Road, east of Courtland), Myers Lake Avenue & 15 Mile Road, Ritchie & 15 Mile Road, 11 Mile Road & Young, and Courtland & 12 Mile Road.

Call Volumes: In addition to expecting a wider range of services from the fire department, residents have grown to rely more heavily on the fire department for non-traditional requests. Greater reliance equates to more calls. People often call for assistance today for an injury or ailment that they would have simply gone to the hospital or med center for in the past. The public has become aware of the greater knowledge and professionalism of firefighters; they may call the fire department to check an electrical concern or they may call about an odor that they think is a gas leak.

Call volume at Courtland started out at about 150calls/year but is now about 300 calls/year. The majority of our emergency calls are for residents requiring medical attention.

ISO Rating: You know that your community’s fire department can prevent your home from burning down, but did you know that its overall quality and performance can affect the cost of your homeowners’ insurance? How the insurance companies calculate risk depends on the company and their assessment of your community’s fire department. Many insurance companies rely on the Insurance Services Office (ISO) Public Protection Class (PPC) information to help establish premiums for fire insurance. The ISO is a private company that markets this information to the insurance industry. ISO bases its ratings on periodic visits to fire departments, where evaluators assess manpower, level of training, equipment, availability of water and dispatching capabilities. Based on a 1-10 scale (a “1” being the most exemplary), ratings are assigned to each community on the basis of three factors: (1) 50 percent of the score looks at the fire department, including staffing, training, geographic distribution of fire stations and adequacy of equipment; (2) 40 percent of the score takes into account the fire department’s water supply; and (3) 10 percent of the score measures the efficiency of emergency communications, such as the 911 system and the number of dispatchers.
Courtland Fire Department is currently rated a 7 out of 10. Generally, the ISO rating is reviewed about every 10 years. Some insurance companies do not use ISO ratings in their calculations of premiums, while others use the ISO rating along with a number of other factors such as the age of a home and the type of roof. To compare our ISO rating with fire departments across the state of Michigan please visit

Burn Permits: Please call before burning. The best time to obtain a burn permit is Monday through Thursday during business hours. To obtain a weekend permit call the township office on Thursday. Permits will only be issued if the DNR has approved burning. And please remember that all burning must be done during daylight hours, and fires must be a safe distance from all buildings and away from tall grass and trees. Please do not leave fires unattended and have a garden hose handy. Burning of tires, roofing, construction materials, treated lumber, garbage, plastics or any rubber or petroleum products is prohibited.