Plymouth Township officials are looking at ways to permanently reopen Fire Station No. 2, which was closed nearly five years ago as a result of layoffs in the Plymouth Township Fire Department.

Supervisor Kurt Heise said Tuesday that he is pursuing two avenues to reopen the station: Budget adjustments that would allow for hiring up to six firefighters, and a possible partnership with Northville Township, where officials are "very interested" in sharing the station.

"The goal is to fully reopen Station 2 so we can perform emergency runs out of that facility," Heise said.

Heise, a former state representative, pledged during his campaign for supervisor last year to reopen the station if elected. Station No. 2 is on Wilcox Road, in the northeast corner of the city, and was closed March 1, 2012, after six firefighters were laid off due to budget cuts.

Fire Chief Dan Phillips told the Board of Trustees last week that it would take at least six additional firefighters to reopen Station No. 2.

"That would not be optimal use. That would get the station open," Phillips said. The township currently has 18 full-time firefighter-paramedics, plus the chief and the fire inspector.

Six new hires would cost approximately $523,000 for the first year, Phillips said.

Heise said that while a budget adjustment and a new eligibility list of firefighter candidates are planned, officials in Plymouth and Northville townships are having "a very preliminary exploratory discussion about the feasibility of jointly sharing Station 2."

Heise told board members last week: "We just want to talk about it."

"Anything that improves efficiency and reduces costs and improves response times, things like that, certainly we're open to discussion," said Brent Siegel, Northville Township's deputy director of fire services.

The Northville Township Fire Department, which operates out of a single station on Six Mile, used Plymouth Township's Station No. 2 temporarily last spring and summer during a major construction project on Six Mile. The move helped the department maintain service in that township's southeast corner during the disruption, Siegel said. There were closures on I-275 in the area during the same period.

"That was a huge advantage," said Siegel of the arrangement. "We're thankful that they allowed us to use that station during that time, and it really was great benefit to our residents."

Siegel said the station was staffed around the clock, during that period, by two Northville Township firefighters and equipped with an ambulance and a fire truck. Although it makes sense to assume response times to nearby parts of Northville Township improved, Siegel said, there is no hard data reflecting that, and the variables involved, such as the road and freeway closures, make that difficult to determine.

Heise said it's possible that Plymouth Township will both hire additional firefighters and pursue an agreement for sharing Station No. 2. Under an agreement to share the station, he said, the plan would be to staff it with three Plymouth Township firefighters and three Northville Township firefighters.

"I think we owe it to the community to look at all the options that are available," he said.

Phillips said reopening Station No. 2 would lead to improved emergency service, particularly in the Lake Pointe subdivision and at the Independence Village senior living facility. It would also allow firefighters assigned to Station Nos. 1 and 3 to provide better service to the areas nearer to those stations, because they would not be relied on as much for runs to northeast Plymouth Township.

Station No. 1 is on Haggerty, north of Ann Arbor Road, near township hall; Station No. 3 is on Beck at North Territorial.

Heise said Station No. 2 is currently used for training and for storing backup equipment, but that he doesn't count that as being "open."

"I don't define success by whether or not the lights are on," but by the ability to provide emergency services, Heise said.

mjachman@hometownlife.com