Saturday, January 23, 2010
By Denise Dick
NEW SPRINGFIELD — Springfield Township and New Middletown Village officials are working toward formation of a joint fire district.
“The fire district will be mirrored after the Western Reserve Joint Fire District,” said Richard DeBucci, president of village council and its safety chairman. The Western Reserve Joint Fire District covers Poland village and township.
“What we’re hoping to accomplish is better service for the township and the village by combining personnel and equipment and not increasing costs,” DeBucci said. “It’s all about the money at this point.”
Robert Orr, a township trustee, agreed.
“We thought this would be a way to provide better service,” Orr said.
The idea started as a plan for a service agreement between the two entities, he said, but shifted to a joint fire district.
A committee consisting of DeBucci, both communities’ fire chiefs, village Mayor Harry Kale, the township assistant fire chief and EMS supervisor and the village fiscal officer began meeting several months ago to work out a plan.
Matt Gebhardt, township fire chief, said the committee began meeting several months ago, but fire service has been an issue for years.
The two communities were formerly served by one fire department, but the village split off in the early 1970s.
“Their fire station is right behind ours on Struthers Road,” Gebhardt said. “They can throw a stone from theirs and hit ours, and we can throw a stone from ours and hit theirs.”
The township department boasts about 70 people including firefighters and EMTs. The village boasts about 17 fire-department employees.
In 1994, the two communities talked about again joining forces, but those talks broke off without agreement, Gebhardt said.
Plans for a joint district have met mixed feelings among township firefighters, the chief said. Some are concerned about what the change will mean for them, he said.
“All in all, we’re one community,” Gebhardt said, adding the village is within the township. “We have family in the village, and the village has family living in the township.”
Township residents won’t see a difference in service under a district, the chief said. Village residents, though, will see the added benefit of EMS ambulance service .
The township’s average response times in the township are three to five minutes to the truck and five to seven minute to the scene, Gebhardt said.
“We pride ourselves on that here,” he said.
DeBucci said committee members are awaiting completion of a draft by the attorney working on the language. Upon receipt, the committee will review the draft and determine if it wants changes before presenting it to trustees and council for vote.
The idea is to have a contract for services for three years. In the fourth year, it would become a joint fire district. That time would allow both fire departments and political entities time to inventory their equipment.
It will also provide time to transfer from the township to the district the license and certification for ambulance transport by EMS personnel.
Each community has its own fire levy that will remain in effect during the first three years of the contract. When the district forms, though, it will be up to district board members to seek funding for the district, likely through a levy.
Though township EMS workers are able to transport patients to the hospital if needed, the village’s firefighters are permitted to act only as first responders. If a patient needs transport, they must await the arrival of an ambulance.
“EMS will be a big plus for the village,” DeBucci said.
Once a contract is presented, it will take three readings, likely three months unless special meetings are called, for approval.
Village and township fire personnel are considered volunteer, paid per call. They would remain part-time as employees of the fire district.
The township has three fire stations: on Woodworth Road in New Springfield, on Youngstown-Pittsburgh Road in Petersburg and on Struthers Road by the water tower. It also has two ambulances, one at the township building and another at the Woodworth station.
The village employees work out of a station on Main Street.
The fire district will be its own entity made up of five people who serve two-year terms. The five will be one trustee, one council member and one resident each of the village and township. The fifth member will be selected by the other four. Once formed, the district board will be able to determine whether there is a need to change the locations of fire stations to best serve the community, DeBucci said.
denise_dick@vindy.com