CANFIELD Firefighters promoted for 24-hour service

District firefighters have received about 1,400 calls so far this year.
By IAN HILL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
CANFIELD -- The Cardinal Joint Fire District board has promoted three firefighters who will help keep one of the district's fire stations open all the time.
Fredrick Marcum, Mark Pitzer and Robert J. Tieche, the son of Fire Chief Robert Tieche, were sworn in at a special board meeting Monday.
Each of the firefighters will work at least two 24-hour shifts per week at Station 1 on Lisbon Road beginning the week of Nov. 1. They will be joined between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. by a firefighter working a shorter shift.
The week of Nov. 1 will be the first that the station is open 24 hours a day every day. It has been staffed from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.
One of three promoted firefighters also will work a third 24-hour shift during a week. They will have two days off after each shift, and their starting salary is $28,500 per year.
Chief Tieche added that the money to keep Station 1 open all the time will come from the 1.25-mill permanent levy approved by district voters in November 2000. The district includes the city of Canfield and Canfield Township.
Like other firefighters in the district, Marcum, Pitzer and Tieche have been paid by the hour and working five-hour shifts. They have been allowed to work up to 53 hours a week.
Calls increase
Chief Tieche said the hourly pay is based on experience and training. The district has 34 firefighters.
Chief Tieche has said the decision to keep the station open all the time was made in response to an increase in the number of calls for the district's firefighters during the past five years.
In 1990, they responded to 480 calls. By 2000, the number was up to about 1,260, and so far this year they have responded to about 1,400 calls.
The district's response time averages about 3 minutes and 53 seconds between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. That time doubles in the early morning, when firefighters are responding to calls from home.
Many of the calls are for medical service, not fires. Paul Moracco, the chairman of the fire district board, noted that Marcum, Pitzer and Tieche are state-certified paramedics. Firefighters with paramedic training are needed because firefighters often respond to medical calls before ambulance crews.
The board is planning to promote three more firefighters next year to help keep Station 2, on Messerly Road, open all the time. The station has been staffed from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. No date has been set for 24-hour shifts to start there.
hill@vindy.com