WHITEWATER — The Whitewater Fire Department Inc. is in discussions with the city of Whitewater to become a city department in hopes to better service the city and surrounding townships.

At the end of 2021, discussions began about staffing concerns in order to better serve the community and surrounding areas, according to a city of Whitewater news release.

By January of 2022, members of the Whitewater Fire Department, Inc. gave permission to the board of directors to move forward in creating a relationship with the City of Whitewater. This includes creating an Memorandum of Understanding, which is currently in process.

The plan is to have multiple phases to make a smooth transition, starting with transferring the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) which includes operations, staffing and physical assets or equipment.

WFD, Inc. will plan to keep their established 501(c)(3) status, allowing the organization to continue to accept donations for additional equipment in the future.

The merge is intended to address emergency staffing needs by providing comparable salaries as other fire departments but more importantly, to offer benefits to staff.

“This merge is for the citizens,” said WFD, Inc. Board of Directors President and Fire Captain, Christ Christon. “We need to provide the best service we can to our community and the surrounding townships.”