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When asked about the name, Kingsley laughed long and loud. "Believe it or not, that's one of the hardest problems. To me, the name isn't important. What's important is that when they make a phone call, a truck shows up at their house." But Kingsley isn't suggesting calling it the Webster Regional Fire Department, either.

If the consolidation goes through, Kingsley says "the new structure can be put in place in a matter of weeks or months. The first job is to put together a new fire board, then hire a new fire chief. The current chiefs would be made deputy chiefs and report directly to the fire board, and the fire board would continue to run two separate departments until the new fire chief is hired, and the two current chiefs can apply for the job."

The provisional name for the joint service, Washtenaw Fire and Rescue, is broad enough to allow other communities to join in the future. While some Dexter firefighters claim changing the names would cost up to six figures, Kingsley says "we haven't even gotten an estimate yet. And I think they're counting on all new uniforms and repainting the trucks, and all that doesn't need to happen right away.