MOUNT VERNON – The city’s Fire Department has answered about 340 more calls this year as compared to 2021 at the same time, Fire Chief Chad Christopher told the Mount Vernon City Council in its Monday night meeting.
Fire and EMS crews have answered 5,680 calls, with 4,908 being emergency medical services calls and the remaining 772 being fire calls. Christopher attributed the increase in calls to the city’s contract to provide coverage for College Township.
In College Township, crews responded to 779 emergency incidents and completed 376 ambulance transports. College Township and Kenyon College accounted for 290 of the emergency incidents.
A big issue has been false alarms at Kenyon College, Christopher said. Campus security has helped with the installation of smoke detectors in buildings.
The top overall EMS call category has been a sick person, with 1,510 calls. Traumas are next at 1,323 calls, with 193 of those being motor vehicle accident calls. Cardiac calls totaled 362 with 14 heart attacks. Christopher said those heart attack calls had a 90% survival rate. The crews responded to 240 reports of an unconscious person. They administered 69 doses of Narcan in overdose calls. They also responded to eight suicide calls.
Fire Department staff underwent 482 total fire and EMS training hours, Christopher said. That training included advanced cardiac and advanced stroke life support. They trained for mass casualty incidents and trauma triage, boat operations, water and ice rescue, and vehicle extrication.
The Fire Department has lost two employees to lateral transfers to other fire departments. But it’s also hired two firefighters, Ross Wind and Jason VanHoose, he said.
The department has 10 active part-time firefighters, but he would like 18 to help balance its need for staffing at the Gambier Fire Station for College Township coverage.
Both vehicle bays at the fire station are equipped with vehicle exhaust systems. A FEMA grant of $187,847 will fund fire hose and appliances (nozzles), with the bid opening next week.
A $1.07 million SAFER grant will enable the hiring of three additional personnel in April 2023. The grant covers three years of salary expenses
Borrowing against fund reserves would fund fire truck purchase
Christopher told City Council talks began with former Councilmember Jason Kirby, Safety-Services Director Rick Dzik and Auditor Terry Scott about the need for new fire apparatus.
“I knew we needed to get the ball rolling on a new engine and a new medic [vehicle], knowing that if you order a new medic right now you're looking at about 24 months before you can get one,” Christopher said.
A fire engine will take a year to 18 months to be delivered.
The Fire Chief said his vehicle replacement plan is every five years for an engine and three years for a medic. The current fleet is composed of engines dating back to 2000, 2006 and 2008, plus a ladder truck from 2018.
“We've got an aging fleet,” he said, adding that there is no reason the city should have a 22-year-old truck.
The fire engine will be from the Rosenbauer Group, the same manufacturer that built the city’s ladder truck. The ambulance will come from Burgess Ambulance of London, Ohio, the same place where the city’s last ambulance was bought. The fire engine will cost approximately $855,000 and the ambulance $275,601.
Law Director Rob Broeren said the city has a legal opinion that it can sign a contract to buy the fire truck – and avoid the 7% price hike coming Dec. 1 – because it has reserve funds to finance the purchase and a down payment isn’t required.
The city plans to do what the county and other municipalities have done by borrowing from its reserves through a bond issuance, he said. Legislation for the City Council to approve the purchase will be presented at the next meeting.
