Accessibility

Fire safety information is no use to someone who can't read it. This page says what we do about that, where we currently fall short, and how to get what you need another way.

Our commitment

We build this site to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA — the standard the U.S. Department of Justice adopted for state and local government websites under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Townships our size have until April 26, 2028 to comply. We are not waiting for the deadline.

What we have done

• Everything works from the keyboard. There is a "skip to content" link, and whatever you are on is outlined clearly as you tab through the page.
• Text meets contrast requirements against its background, and the page still works if you zoom in or use your own font size.
• Animation stops if your device is set to reduce motion. Nothing flashes, blinks or moves on its own.
• Images carry text descriptions, and decorative ones are hidden from screen readers rather than read aloud as noise.
• Pages are built as plain structured text, so a screen reader, a braille display or a browser's reader mode can all get through them.
• Nothing important is colour alone. The burning status says what it means in words, not just in red or green.

Where we fall short

An honest list. If something here is blocking you, call us and we will read it to you or send it in a form you can use.

• PDF forms. The firefighter application and the township ordinances are PDFs we did not create and cannot edit. They may not read well in a screen reader.
• Links to other organizations. The township office, the Village of Shoreham and the county firefighters' association run their own sites. We do not control how accessible those are.
• Historical photographs. Some scanned images of old apparatus are described only briefly, because we do not always know what we are looking at.
• Weather and burning status. These update automatically from outside data. We have tested them, but they change on their own and can surprise us.

Ask us for it another way

Anything on this site you can get from a person instead. Large print, read aloud over the phone, or explained at the station — just ask. There is no form to fill out and no reason to give.

In person or by post: 3000 Washington Ave., Saint Joseph, MI 49085. If email is not something you can use, leave a message on (269) 429-4100 and we will call you back — but please know the station is not staffed, so that route is slow.

We aim to answer email within five business days. If you have told us a page is stopping you from getting information you need, say so and we will get it to you another way first and fix the page after.

Formal complaints

If you want to raise a formal ADA complaint rather than ask us to fix something, that goes to the township, not the fire department. Contact the St. Joseph Charter Township Hall, 3000 Washington Ave.

This statement was last reviewed on September 18, 2026. If you find something we have missed, you are doing us a favor by telling us.