The MRFI is a collaborative initiative designed to unify fire and emergency medical services (EMS) under a single Authority for multiple communities in Manistee County, improving efficiency, coordination, and resource sharing.

The number of emergency calls has risen significantly, but the pool of available responders has decreased. Additionally, EMS now accounts for approximately 80% of all calls, highlighting the need for a more robust and coordinated response system.

MRFI aims to solve critical issues such as staffing shortages, related response time concerns, fragmented emergency services, increasing complexity of calls, and the necessity for faster, more coordinated responses across the region. The Authority will also address consistency in training, policies, apparatus, and equipment.

Mutual aid is a formal or informal agreement between fire and EMS departments to share resources (ex. personnel, apparatus, and equipment) across jurisdictional boundaries when emergencies exceed local capacity.

The ultimate goal of MRFI is to establish a sustainable, efficient, and reliable regional fire and EMS system that meets the evolving needs of the community now and into the future.