James H. Porter Jr., currently a captain with the Suttons Bay-Bingham Fire and Rescue Department, has been named to succeed William Calhoun as chief of the department.

SUTTONS BAY-BINGHAM Fire and Rescue Department chief Bill Calhoun (left) congratulates department captain Jim Porter on Porter’s recent selection to succeed Calhoun as chief.
Porter will serve as the department’s first full-time chief after Calhoun steps down sometime this summer.

During a special session last week, the board of the Suttons Bay Bingham Fire and Rescue Authority voted unanimously to hire Porter, who was among three finalists for the position to undergo public interviews the week before.

Twenty-four people applied for the position after the pending vacancy was announced last year – many of them from out of town or out of state.  One of the finalists interviewed last week was from Ann Arbor, the other was from Germantown, Ohio.

“There were a lot of highly qualified people from all over the place who applied for this position and who were seriously considered for it,” said Porter.  “I knew the board wasn’t necessarily looking to hire a local or somebody already in the department – so I’m pleasantly surprised and honored that they picked me.”

A 1995 graduate of Suttons Bay High School, Porter became a firefighter and a Medical First Responder in 1996 and subsequently worked as a volunteer in the department while also working as a building contractor.  He was appointed a captain in the department in 2000.  Following advanced training as a firefighter, fire officer and emergency medical technician, he worked with Northport EMS for a while. Porter landed a full-time job with Suttons Bay-Bingham Fire and Rescue in 2006.

Calhoun explained that the actual change of leadership will occur sometime this summer after a replacement is found to fill Porter’s full-time position as a captain, firefighter and EMT in the department.  Calhoun added that he expected to begin a months-long transition with Porter in the weeks ahead.

Calhoun said he had not decided what he will do after Porter takes over, but will consider remaining with the department as a volunteer firefighter.  Calhoun joined the department as a volunteer in 1964 and became chief in 1990.

As the part-time chief, Calhoun had been earning around $12,000 per year.  A budget for the department indicates the new full-time chief will earn a starting salary of between $50,000 and $55,000 per year.

For nearly a decade, voters in Suttons Bay and Bingham townships have supported millage proposals that have allowed the department to provide 24/7 Advanced Life Support ambulance service with paramedics and firefighters on duty year-round in a new facility.  In 2008, voter-approved property taxes paying for department operations, equipment needs and a newly expanded fire hall totaled more than 3.2 mills in Suttons Bay and Bingham townships.

“With an expanded operation we have very much needed a full-time professional chief to manage the department,” said Rich Bahle, Suttons Bay Township supervisor and president of the Suttons Bay-Bingham Fire and Rescue Authority board.  “I believe the board has made an excellent choice and I am glad that we are moving forward.”

Bahle credited Fire and Rescue Authority board members Mary Bush and Dan Penning for heading a committee that conducted the search for a new chief.  Penning is a Suttons Bay attorney and Bush is a trustee on the Bingham Township Board.