HOWLAND, BAZETTA Fire units: joint effort?

The plan could spare Bazetta the expense of building a third fire station.
By STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
HOWLAND -- Howland and Bazetta fire departments are considering joining forces to protect their rapidly growing border area.
"The end result will be savings for the taxpayer and better service for the taxpayer," said George Brown, Howland's fire chief.
Fire chiefs from both townships are exploring the possibility of jointly staffing Howland's Morgandale station at Wilson and Overlook avenues.
The station serves the businesses and neighborhoods along Elm and North River roads.
It is staffed with Howland firefighters from 7 a.m. to 4 a.m. weekdays.
The plan: The chiefs are considering staffing the station 24 hours a day, seven days a week, using personnel from both departments.
"It is not unusual, if we have a fire, for both departments to end up at the fire, anyway," Brown said. "We both respond now."
Howland and Bazetta are forced to work closely in the area near the Warren Outerbelt, where several commercial properties cross fire department boundaries.
A Delphi Packard Electric Systems plant is in both townships, as are a Stambaugh Hardware building and a Wal-Mart complex.
As it is being discussed now, the plan is for the station to continue to house one ambulance and one firetruck, but one piece of equipment might come from each township.
The departments could also share in the costs for operating the station, Brown said.
Benefits: The staffing plan could reduce response times to 2 to 4 minutes in that part of the township, from the 4- to 5-minute average now, he said.
A cooperative agreement could also save Bazetta taxpayers the expense of building a third station of their own to serve the area, said Robert Lewis, the chief there.
"Elm Road has expanded tremendously, and I don't think it is going to stop," he said. "When Howland has a station in the area, do we buy another fire station and buy more equipment?"
The two chiefs plan in January to visit two townships in Summit County which have formed a similar arrangement.
A proposal should be in front of township trustees within a few months after that, Brown said.