POLAND — The Western Reserve Joint Fire District is gearing up to have a 24/7 fire station with ambulance service.

Steps are underway to add the needed personnel.

“We will be hiring 10 part-time personnel to help staff our ambulances,” said fire Chief David “Chip” Comstock. “We will also have Capt. (Connor) O’Halloran moving to assistant chief and a lieutenant stepping up to captain.”

O’Halloran said he has been working hard to set up staffing to make things work smoothly. He said the toughest part of scheduling is in using part-time people.

“We plan to use our existing staff (of 45) plus the 10 new hires,” O’Halloran said. “But they all have full-time jobs elsewhere.”

He said the goal is to turn Station 92 into a full-time station using part-time people. The part-timers will enable two ambulances to run out of the station. Stations 91 and 93 will remain on call-out as needed.

O’Halloran said the goal to begin full-time staffing (with part-time people) is Aug. 1. That goal will involve having five people on during the day, and three overnight. All the personnel, both existing and the 10 new hires, will be paid part-timers.

“Last November’s levy is paying for all of this,” he said.

That November levy approved by voters is 2.75 mills and brings in $1.18 million per year. The levy and the plan to staff a station 24/7 was made last year when ambulance service using private companies took as long as a half-hour.

With the levy and the fire district taking on ambulance service, transports to Poland residents would be at no out-of-pocket cost. The department will bill only the insurance company and accept what it pays.

As for the 10 new hires, applications are still being accepted and can be obtained at www.polandfire.org. Applicants must have at least an EMT and firefighter II certification in Ohio, a valid driver’s license and a high school diploma. The hourly pay is set at $20 for EMT / FFII, $21 for advanced EMT / FFII, and $22 for paramedic / FFII.

Michael Thompson, fire board vice chairman, said: “Poland had faith in WRJFD’s plan to keep us all safe, and gave us the resources to make it happen. The WRJFD board, staff and responders will be good stewards of these resources going forward, and when our community needs us, we will be there.”