EATON — During an Eaton City Council meeting on Monday, April 15, Fire Chief Brian Smith presented a report on the Fire/EMS Division.
According to Smith, run volume was down last year. For 2018, EFD responded to a total of 2,576 emergencies, which is below average by 100. During the first quarter of 2019, the department is at 660 responses. That is on pace for 2,640 calls for 2019, which is average, according to Smith.
Through 2018 and into 2019 there has been changes to how the department responds to calls. The first is a result of the closure of Good Samaritan Hospital. Good Sam was the City of Eaton’s parent facility for a long time, but now Grandview serves as the parent facility.
The department also switched from a van chassis to a truck chassis. According to Smith, this was for several reasons. The ride systems are better today than every before and the ride is smooth. By switching to the truck chassis, the department will extend the life of the medic units by five years.
Smith also reported on the ongoing opioid crisis. The department saw a significance decrease in opioid responses last year. In 2017, there were 92 heroin overdose responses. In 2018, there were 29 responses. So far in 2019, there have been eight responses.
The department does occassionally receive and provide mutual aid. In 2018, the department provided mutual aid 28 times for emergencies. They received mutual aid 51 times by neighboring departments.
Most of the department personnel is dual certified between Fire and EMS. There is only one person out of 38 who is not dual certified.
In 2018, the department was able to provide over 700 hours of in-house training for members.
“We’re fortunate in our agency that we have a lot of dedicated personnel that not only want to better themselves, but want to better those around us. We have several instructors on staff for fire and EMS education, which allows us the opportunity to do a lot of stuff in house,” Smith said.
Smith also discussed a resolution which was on the agenda. The resolution was ultimately approved by council and it authorized the city manager to purchase fire apparatus through the State of Ohio’s Cooperative Purchasing Program.
The Division of Fire/EMS needs to replace a 1993 E-One pumper apparatus and a new replacement apparatus is available through the Ohio Department of Administrative Services State Purchasing Program. The apparatus is a new Rosenbauer pumper apparatus body/Rosenbauer Commander Chassis, available from All-American Fire Equipment. The new equipment will cost $502,584 with delivery to be made approximately 395 days after receipt of and approval of the contract.
