Fire Departments Increasingly Using Part-Time Firefighters in Ohio

Sept. 14--BUTLER COUNTY -- Middletown city officials are hoping to convert the Middletown Division of Fire into a department operated by full- and part-time firefighters -- a growing trend in Butler County and around the United States.

City Manager Doug Adkins, on the night City Council announced 11 positions were being cut from the fire department after members of International Association of Fire Fighters Local 336 rejected the city's proposal, said of the 26,482 fire departments registered in the United States, 8 percent are staffed by career-only positions, according to the U.S. Fire Administration.

He added that 5 percent of those departments are staffed by mostly career firefighters (51 percent to 99 percent career); 16 percent are staffed by mostly volunteer staff (1 percent to 50 percent); and 71 percent are staffed by volunteer staffs.

Of the 10 largest fire departments in Butler County, three -- Hamilton, Middletown and Monroe -- employ exclusively full-time firefighters, while the departments in Fairfield Twp., Madison Twp. and Trenton are operated by part-timers and volunteers, according to an analysis by the Journal-News.

City officials and fire chiefs around the county say the size of their fire departments, and whether they're operated by career firefighters, part-timers or volunteers, is a matter of money and the demand for services.

For instance, in Middletown, Adkins said the average annual cost of a firefighter -- including base salary, overtime and benefits -- is $103,000. He said since firefighters work 24 consecutive hours, and are off work the next 48 hours, they work about 51 hours a week, some of those hours at overtime pay.

Adkins said there are 26 full-time firefighters in Middletown who are eligible for retirement over the next five years. When those positions open, Adkins said, "cheaper" firefighters will be hired, which will save the city money and allow it to concentrate on other needed areas, such as paving roads.

Fire Chief Steve Botts previously told this newspaper that closing Station 84 and cutting firefighter positions could save about $1 million in the city's budget.

Station 84, which services the northern part of the city, was built in the 1950s and needs a number of significant repairs, among which is the roof, Botts said.

Adkins said the city has to reduce its budget. He said during the last 10 years, the cost of public safety has increased by $2.3 million, while all other departments have reduced their spending by $2.2 million. At the current rate, he said, the city would be "broke" within four years.

Paul Stumpf, Liberty Twp. fire chief, believes in the 24/48 shift. He said his 30 full-time firefighters work that shift because it's a "tried and true" procedure.

Meanwhile, Adkins said Vandalia, where he formerly worked, uses a part-time model, with eight full-time and 47 part-time firefighters, and the average cost of employing a firefighter is $48,384, or 43 percent the cost of a Middletown firefighter.

In other departments, part-time firefighters are either paid per hour or per run.

In Oxford, Fire Chief John Detherage is the only full-time firefighter. He said the station is manned by 40 part-time firefighters who work either 12- and 24-hour shifts and are paid $15 to $16 an hour, based on their certification. He said there are four firefighters on duty at all times.

Since all the firefighters are part-timers, Detherage said scheduling becomes "labor intensive" because of other work conflicts. Several of the fire chiefs said their part-time firefighters, because they're only allowed to work 30 hours a week, work at two or three stations. This only adds to the difficulty of manning the stations, they said.

Madison Twp. fire department pays its part-time fire chief $10,000 a year and its emergency medical services captain $5,000, said Fire Chief Kent Hall. He said the department employs 25 firefighters and EMTs, and no full-time personnel.

Hall followed the tug-of-war between Middletown and the fire union, and while he said he "stays out of their business," the fact that Middletown laid off 11 firefighters "does concern me."

John Centers, fire chief in Monroe, said the layoff of firefighters in Middletown will likely increase the number of mutual aid calls by his department. He said Monroe would provide as much assistance as possible, and if a problem with staffing arises, it would be addressed.

Adkins said the city is discussing "automatic aid agreements" with two neighboring cities, Monroe and Franklin, for confirmed structure fires. He said the city can't afford to staff for such a few number of fires.

Brian Ruhl, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 20 in Hamilton, said Thursday, the 13th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorists attack, was a bad time to discuss firefighter layoffs. He said on Sept. 11, 2011, the American people placed firefighters on a pedestal, but now, because of budget cuts, they're "scapegoats."

"Don't even get me started," he said. "It's incredible what's happening out there."

Tony Goller, the West Chester Twp. fire chief, said he closely followed the negotiations in Middletown, and he said the layoffs were based on the "almighty dollar."

He said voters in West Chester passed a fire levy in 2006 and his department in financially secure. There are 62 full-time firefighters, who work 24 straight hours, then are off for 48 hours.

The department also is supported by 73 part-time firefighters.

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