Mission Statement, Vision, and Guiding Principles
Vision
It is the vision of the South Lyon Fire Department to be recognized by those we serve and our members as:
- An organization striving to achieve a level of service that is viewed as a benchmark within the Fire Service.
- An exceptional department dedicated to the education of the public in order to promote life safety.
- A dynamic organization that adjusts to the changing needs of the community and its members.
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A department that is acknowledged for its pride, integrity, and professionalism.
- Our primary mission is fire fighting. All our efforts to improve capabilities, develop people, and structure our organization should be grounded in this fundamental responsibility.
- People are the department's foundation. We have a professional and moral obligation to uphold a covenant with firefighters and their families – to ably lead, equip, train, and motivate.
- We must ensure today's force is ready for response. Maintaining apparatus and equipment to their expected service life is an essential contribution to fleet capacity.
- The professional development of our members will improve our quality of service.
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We will promote a positive environment that inspires teamwork.
Insurance Rating
As of December 1, 2017, the South Lyon Fire Department has achieved an ISO rating of 3. ISO's Public Protection Classification (PPC™) Service gauges the capacity of the local fire department to respond if flames engulf a property.
ISO collects information on a community's public fire protection and analyzes the data using their Fire Suppression Rating Schedule (FSRS). They then assign a Public Protection Classification from 1 to 10. Class 1 generally represents superior property fire protection, and Class 10 indicates that the area's fire-suppression program doesn't meet ISO's minimum criteria
What is an Engine Company?

The Engine Company is the basic unit of a fire department. It provides the primary fire fighting agent- water- and the personnel to use it at the fireground.
To supply and use water properly, the fire fighter must have considerable skill and knowledge (along with a certain amount of brawn and the ability to withstand physical and mental stress).
- Rescue victims
- Protect exposures
- Confine the fire
- Extinguish the fire
- Overhaul the fireground
All but the last of these objectives are carried out in an atmosphere of flame and smoke. Therefore, it is essential that fire fighters understand the nature of fire and the factors that affect its spread, including building construction, type of occupancy, and types of fuel available to the fire.
- Rescue
- Water supply
- Use of initial attack fire hose lines
- Use of backup fire hose lines
- Exposure protection
- Heavy water stream development
- Tactical use of protective systems
- Overhaul
What is a Ladder Company?

Ladder companies are sometimes called "truck" companies, "hook-and-ladder" companies, "aerial" companies, and "snorkel" companies. Such labels might partially describe ladder company apparatus, but they do not even hint at the planning, personnel, equipment and training that are coordinated in an efficiently operating ladder company. A ladder truck and a driver do not make a ladder company, any more than a pumper and a driver make an engine company.
The ladder company provides access to, and exits for, all parts of a fire building. Ladder company crews also are responsible for removing heat, smoke and gases to allow greater visibility and permit engine company crews to move rapidly and safely within a fire building or exposed buildings. These examples do not by any means include all the duties of a ladder company, but they do illustrate two important points about ladder company work.
- Ladder work is required at every fire.
- Ladder operations either accompany or precede engine operations.
- Rescue victims
- Protect exposures
- Confine the fire
- Extinguish the fire
- Overhaul the fireground
- Rescue
- Ventilation
- Laddering
- Forcible entry
- Checking fire extension
- Ladder-pipe operation
- Utility control
- Salvage
- Overhaul