Ravenna seeks grant to add 3 to fire department

Diane Smith, Record-Courier
·2 min read
The Ravenna Fire Department, as seen in this Record-Courier file photo, hopes to add three firefighters to its staff through grant funding.
The Ravenna Fire Department, as seen in this Record-Courier file photo, hopes to add three firefighters to its staff through grant funding.

Ravenna will be seeking federal help to shore up the staff of its fire department, which has struggled to keep up with the additional calls brought on by COVID-19.

Council's committee of the whole moved forward Monday with an application to the Staffing For Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant, which would add three firefighters to the department's ranks.

Councilwoman Amy Michael said the additional staff is sorely needed. The department, she said, was short staffed before the pandemic. However, when emergency departments are busy, firefighters are sometimes forced to stay with a patient for hours until hospital staff takes over.

"Our guys are overworked and under-staffed," she said.

The same problem prompted fire chiefs in Summit County to ask ERs to take over care for patients within an hour so firefighters can respond to other calls, the Akron Beacon Journal recently reported.

A Ravenna Fire Department ladder truck sets up on Park Way by the fire station as part of the grand opening celebration of the "Main Street Mile," a 1-mile loop of downtown Ravenna.
A Ravenna Fire Department ladder truck sets up on Park Way by the fire station as part of the grand opening celebration of the "Main Street Mile," a 1-mile loop of downtown Ravenna.

The grant, administered by the Federal Emergency Management Association, would pay 100 percent of the salary and benefits of a firefighter for a year, 70 percent the second year and 30 percent in the third year. After that, the city would be required to keep the new firefighters on staff for three years, The city could add one, two or three firefighters to the staff with the grant money.

Mark Chapple, interim chief of the fire department, previously said he is concerned that the increase in calls and the effects of the pandemic mean that the department's 18 firefighters won't be able to continue to provide needed services. Last year, he said, the department wasn't able to respond or provide equipment for 107 EMS or fire-related alarms, which were answered by neighboring fire departments.

Chapple said 87 percent of his firefighters have had COVID at least once, and some have had it more than once.

Michael said firefighters in Ravenna have many duties beyond responding to calls. The city has chosen a candidate to fill the vacant fire inspector position, but the job hasn't been filled because that person is needed to respond to calls.

"None of us wants to be in that situation where there's nobody at the station," she said.

Eventually, Michael said, the city will be responsible for the salary and benefits of the new firefighters, but she expressed hope that business growth will provide the additional funding by then. Having enough safety forces, she said, could help inspire businesses to come to Ravenna, she added.

In 2016, Ravenna voters approved a 0.25 percent income tax increase for safety forces.

Reporter Diane Smith can be reached at dsmith@recordpub.com.

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Ravenna aims to add 3 firefighters through federal grant