The Dexter Township Board Tuesday night signed an agreement with the Chelsea Area Fire Authority (CAFA) to cover a small portion of the township following the December opening of a substation manned by Dexter Area Fire Department.

The new substation at the Multi-Lake Sewer Authority on North Territorial Road, is manned by the Dexter fire department, and provides primary fire coverage for township residents.

The township will now pay CAFA about $15,566 in two equal installments per year as well as $1.16 per hour for each fire engine, $4.34 per hour for the tower and $2 per hour for each brush truck needed to fight any fires, according to the contract.

“I’m happy that the last piece of our fire protection has been put into place,” said Pat Kelly, Dexter Township supervisor.

With the new contract, CAFA will now cover a section of Dexter Township that includes parcels on both sides of Waterloo Road west of McKinley.

The new station is staffed by firefighters around the clock, seven days a week.

Residents were told of the switch in fire departments in a Jan. 10 letter, which also advised them to check with their insurance carrier to see if the new substation would reduce their insurance rates.

With the new station, more than 99 percent of the township’s homes are now within 5 miles of fire protection, the letter states. There are about 6,600 residents in the township.

In April 2010, the Dexter Township Board appointed a committee to look into improvements to fire and emergency response service for its residents.

In addition, voters in the CAFA member municipalities — the City of Chelsea and Lima, Lyndon and Sylvan townships — approved a 1.8 mill tax increase for fire coverage and the CAFA board informed the township that it would have to pay an equal amount.

Burn permits for township residents will now be issued by the Dexter fire department and residents are asked to call 734-426-4500 to get one. The direct phone number to Station 2 is 734-426-0883.

This map shows which departments cover the various areas in Dexter Township.

Lisa Allmendinger is a reporter for AnnArbor.com. She can be reached at lallmendinger@sbcglobal.net. For more Dexter stories, visit our Dexter page.