Results of the Fire Department Shared Services Study Are In

Officials from Summit and Millburn will meet Monday night to hear from a consultant regarding possible increased shared services between the two departments.

The two communities hired Emergency Services Consulting International to conduct a Fire Department Shared Services Feasibility Study at a cost of $24,000 each.

The two departments already have an automatic aid agreement, share a dispatch center located in Summit and train together. The study was intended to look for other areas to share services and also if there is a possibility to combine the two departments.

"We wanted to be proactive with the current economic climate," said Millburn Fire Chief Michael Roberts in June 2009 when the idea for the study was first developed. "We owe it to the community."

Also at play is the plans for the Northwest Union Joint Dispatch Center between Summit, New Providence, and Berkeley Heights. Summit Fire Chief Joseph Houck said the three communities would love for Millburn to become a full partner int he project but their involvement is still unknown.