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Springfield gives officials more time to get certification
NEW SPRINGFIELD
Springfield Township trustees announced Wednesday they have decided to extend a deadline for Fire Chief Matt Gebhardt and Battalion Chief Don Wharry for one year to obtain medical certificates required by their jobs.
The move gives the two men one year from Wednesday’s meeting to obtain emergency medical certifications. When their jobs were initially posted two years ago, the job description required them to meet the requirement within two years, a deadline which was up in January.
Trustees also said they have discovered in reviewing qualifications that two more members of the fire department have not obtained necessary certifications to meet their job requirements and they also will be given one more year to fulfill them.
Gebhardt said these include an EMS lieutenant and a fire lieutenant, although neither he nor trustees would name them.
Residents and firefighters have criticized trustees at the last two meetings for failing to follow their own operating procedures in letting the two-year deadline pass without taking any action.
Gebhardt has said previously that he completed the class for the EMT card and worked the required hours on the ambulance but failed the test. He said he is studying to retake it this month.
Karen Philibin, EMS captain, said in March that Wharry did not complete the class and is ineligible to take the test without starting the whole process again. A resident questioned Wednesday whether Wharry would reimburse the township for the cost of the class, but no answer was given.