MOUNT VERNON – Mount Vernon Fire Chief Chad Christopher told the City Council on Aug. 23 that 14 part-time firefighters have been hired and additional applications are pending.
The council asked Christopher to provide quarterly reports on the fire department and how it is fulfilling the $500,000 annual contract with College Township for fire and EMS service.
Eleven of the part-time firefighters are considered “regular” part-time employees, which he said meant they work every sixth day. Three others are on call.
“What that means is that they look at the schedule, what works for them. If there's an open shift, then they call in and fill that spot,” Christopher told the Mount Vernon News.
The fire department constantly seeks applications, which can be found online or at Station 491, 200 West Gambier St. Mount Vernon.
Two of the part-timers started on Monday.
The part-time firefighters are starting with 12-hour work shifts until their training is completed. After five of those shifts, they should be able to start 24-hour shifts. Before that happens, Christopher will sit down with their training officer to evaluate their progress.
June 9 was the first day the Mount Vernon Fire Department started answering service calls for College Township, he said. As of Aug. 23, the department received 38 calls, with 17 of those canceled in route. Those calls were mainly fire alarms at Kenyon College that campus security canceled.
So the firefighters responded to 21 incidents on scene, with three of them fire calls and 18 EMS calls.
The average response time from dispatch to arriving on scene was 10 minutes, 23 seconds, which Christopher said was skewed by road construction. Once firefighters are stationed in the fire station in Gambier, that response time should be reduced.
Christopher expects to move staff into the fire station in Gambier by Oct. 1, two months before the deadline set in the contract with the township.
The Gambier fire station is being remodeled to create three bedrooms for firefighters. The township is responsible for station maintenance and getting it ready to ready to house firefighters, he said.
Kenyon College students were heading back to school at the end of the month, which will mean an increase in calls. But it also means the student fire program will begin. Lt. Todd Davis will be in charge of the program. Two students have fire and EMT certifications. The other three started basic EMT school on Aug. 25 at the Knox Technical Center.
“We had one of the one of the Kenyon students do some summer help with us there for about three weeks. She helped with hose testing and some work around the station,” Christopher said.
The city had received the first $250,000 of the annual payment, and the fire chief went over expenses with the City Council: uniforms, fingerprinting of the part-timers and some maintenance on some of the township’s equipment. The city takes over maintenance of the equipment, but not the building.
“The major cost, like I just mentioned there, was sending the three Kenyon students to EMT class. And then, of course, we had some engine pump testing and ladder testing that needs to be done annually,” he said.
The college has a lot of new construction within its campus, so the fire department has worked with the college on plans and inspections.
Fire Department flushing hydrants in September
Residents in the northern half of Mount Vernon should check the Fire Department's annual hydrant flushing schedule before running loads of clothing in their washing machines.
Firefighters will start flushing hydrants around 8 a.m. and conclude by 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday.
The schedule can be found at mvfd.mountvernonohio.org. Navigate to the "Links" tab and click on "2021 Fire Hydrant Flushing Schedule."
Sudden drops in water pressure should correct themselves within a few minutes. If it persists or a customer is without water, contact the city's Water Office at 740-393-9504.
