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Fire district tackles staffing

Poland voters’ approval allows round-the-clock protection

POLAND — The Western Reserve Joint Fire District will staff two ambulances around the clock thanks to Poland voters who passed a 2.75-mill levy earlier this month.

Now, just three weeks later, the fire district is beginning to put a plan into action.

Fire board Trustee Chairman J. Michael Thompson was grateful for the turnout at the polls and the large number who voted for the levy, which passed by a 69 to 31 percent margin.

“On behalf of everyone at the Western Reserve Joint Fire District, thank you to the citizens of Poland for passing the EMS levy,” Thompson said in a post-Election Day comment. “Thank you for having faith in our plans to keep the community safe.

“The department will move swiftly to implement EMS staffing, while at the same time upholding its proud volunteer tradition. Poland has given us the tools, and we will get the job done.”

Things are moving swiftly, with the first step underway. The department is organizing a list of things that need to be done to prepare for the April 1 kickoff of 24-hour, 7-days-a-week ambulance service in Poland.

“We are done with the celebrations (over the levy passage),” Chief David “Chip” Comstock said. “The party is over, and we are putting together the tasks that need to be done.”

He said the district is starting from scratch and looking at the ambulance service and the many moving parts.

“We are not hiring full-time staff,” he said. “We are looking to staff full time.”

Comstock said it takes 17,520 hours per year to have two people working 24 hours for 365 days a year. With the promise of having two ambulances, those numbers can be doubled.

Today, the fire district has 10 paramedics. To staff 24 hours would require between 12 and 14 paramedics.

Another part of the equation is the limit of hours the federal government allows. Right now, paramedics are limited to 1,500 hours per year.

“I would need to hire two or four more paramedics, but could need as many as 10,” Comstock said.

The problem is the fire district is a volunteer department. Most of the EMTs and paramedics have full-time jobs and families to support. That brings a second problem, which is scheduling.

Comstock said to staff 24/7 would require having the people to fill all the hours. That could take a lot of moving around with other careers.

“We really have to figure out shift hours with part-time people,” he said. “We have to realize the people have other jobs.”

Comstock said wages also are a big factor.

“We need to finalize what the wage rates will be,” he said. “We need to be competitive to attract people and keep them.

“Any political subdivision who doesn’t provide a competitive wage will lose people and be unable to provide emergency medical staff. Smaller communities may have to consider joining with larger communities.”

The district will have to look at information technology and having a working system for scheduling.

“Once we have all this in place, we can go hire people,” he said. “We will have to make sure we have people who understand our department.”

Mutual aid also is an issue that will need to be dealt with in writing up new department policies. Comstock gave the example of a major fire in Boardman.

“Do I send our four people on a firetruck, or do I keep them on the ambulances and let others respond,” he said.

That also would need to be worked out for local fires.

Right now, Comstock is putting these details on a list of things to consider. He is hoping to be able to have that done before the 24/7 staffing can take place. He said April 1 is the target date as that is when the district should get the first installment of the levy funds.

jtwhitehouse@vindy.com

Fire district tackles staffing

Poland voters’ approval allows round-the-clock protection

POLAND — The Western Reserve Joint Fire District will staff two ambulances around the clock thanks to Poland voters who passed a 2.75-mill levy earlier this month.

Now, just three weeks later, the fire district is beginning to put a plan into action.

Fire board Trustee Chairman J. Michael Thompson was grateful for the turnout at the polls and the large number who voted for the levy, which passed by a 69 to 31 percent margin.

“On behalf of everyone at the Western Reserve Joint Fire District, thank you to the citizens of Poland for passing the EMS levy,” Thompson said in a post-Election Day comment. “Thank you for having faith in our plans to keep the community safe.

“The department will move swiftly to implement EMS staffing, while at the same time upholding its proud volunteer tradition. Poland has given us the tools, and we will get the job done.”

Things are moving swiftly, with the first step underway. The department is organizing a list of things that need to be done to prepare for the April 1 kickoff of 24-hour, seven-days-per-week ambulance service in Poland.

“We are done with the celebrations (over the levy passage),” Chief David “Chip” Comstock said. “The party is over, and we are putting together the tasks that need to be done.”

He said the district is starting from scratch and looking at the ambulance service and the many moving parts.

“We are not hiring full-time staff,” he said. “We are looking to staff full time.”

Comstock said it takes 17,520 hours per year to have two people working 24 hours for 365 days per year. With the promise of having two ambulances, those numbers can be doubled.

Today, the fire district has 10 paramedics. To staff 24 hours would require 12 to 14 paramedics.

Another part of the equation is the limit of hours the federal government allows. Right now, paramedics are limited to 1,500 hours per year.

“I would need to hire two or four more paramedics, but could need as many as 10,” Comstock said.

The problem is the fire district is a volunteer department. Most of the EMTs and paramedics have full-time jobs and families to support. That brings a second problem, which is scheduling.

Comstock said to staff 24/7 would require having the people to fill all the hours. That could take a lot of moving around with other careers.

“We really have to figure out shift hours with part-time people,” he said. “We have to realize the people have other jobs.”

Comstock said wages also are a big factor.

“We need to finalize what the wage rates will be,” he said. “We need to be competitive to attract people and keep them.

“Any political subdivision that doesn’t provide a competitive wage will lose people and be unable to provide emergency medical staff. Smaller communities may have to consider joining with larger communities.”

The district will have to look at information technology and a working system for scheduling.

“Once we have all this in place, we can go hire people,” he said. “We will have to make sure we have people who understand our department.”

Mutual aid also is an issue and will need new department policies. Comstock gave the example of a major fire in Boardman.

“Do I send our four people on a firetruck, or do I keep them on the ambulances and let others respond?” he said.

That also would need to be worked out for local fires.

Right now, Comstock is putting these details on a list of things to consider. He is hoping to be able to have that done before the 24/7 staffing can take place. He said April 1 is the target date as that is when the district should get the first installment of the levy funds.

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