Lancaster Fire Department has positive outlook at the end of the year
LANCASTER − The Lancaster Fire Department has had a hectic year with plenty of staff members retiring and others shifting to new roles, but despite this they have remained on the right track with a positive outlook for the future.
The department started the year under the leadership of former-Chief David Ward, but since taking over Chief Steve Maffin has continued to work to reach its goals.
A point of emphasis for both Maffin and Ward before him was to get staffing numbers up to the target level. While they have made progress towards that goal, Maffin said they are still short staffed.
"We were close prior to June and then that's when everyone retired," said Maffin. "It's still our biggest challenge, to be quite honest. We take two steps forward and one step back."
Maffin said that the target number for staffing is 84 and that the department is currently at 74. According to Maffin, the hiring process can be very slow in civil services, so it will take patience to reach that goal.
Over the past year, the department has seen a lot of movement with their existing members as certain people retire and others step up in their place. Maffin said that this process has gone well.
"It's been great, there's been some internal changes as far as thought process and the direction we're taking stuff," said Maffin. "But you know, with six newly promoted officers, including myself, into new roles, there's going to be a bit of it that's a learning curve for some."
"I've got five new officers around me that are enthusiastic, they're progressive, and they're full of energy to push this department forward," said Maffin.
On another positive note, Maffin said that the safety services levy in 2020 has been a tremendous help to the department.
"We're doing fine as far as any kind of budget concerns," said Maffin. "It's not like we're going out looking for things to spend money on."
"Prior to the levy passing, we had a lot of equipment that more than outlived its life and we were just kind of piecemealing some stuff together," said Maffin. "One of the things that the levy's been able to do for us is finally address some of those issues."
Another focus that the fire department has been working on has been finding a new location for a fire station. Maffin said that finding a spot for the new location has proved difficult.
"The challenge has been finding property and a location that makes sense," said Maffin. "We're not adding another station, we're still sticking with three, this is just going to be a replacement for engine house two, which is the west side station. We've got some leads on some property and we're working through that process now."
One major change that Maffin said that he has made a point of making since taking over was in bringing in a community paramedic. While the community paramedic has yet to start, Maffin said that will be a huge addition once finalized.
"If there's any one area that I think that my thought process has been drastically different has been adding a community paramedic," said Maffin.
"It just makes sense to have this resource available for people who have issues but not necessarily things that qualify for sitting in an emergency department for hours on end," said Maffin.
Ultimately, Maffin said that the department's outlook was very positive as the year comes to a close. While they have dealt with lots of turnover this year, they are on the right track.
"Things are looking great, the morale is great," said Maffin. "Everybody's got projects that they're working on to move the department forward. The community has given us the financial resources we need to be able to provide the kind of services that we think this community deserves and should have."
This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Lancaster Fire Department has positive outlook at the end of the year
