ASHLAND — Firefighters responded to more calls in 2023 compared to the year prior, according to data provided by Chief Rick Anderson.
There was a total of 4,852 calls across both stations in 2023, a 5.5% increase from 2022. Station 1 had 3,307 calls and station 2 had 1,545.
The vast majority of those calls were for public assistance, Anderson said.
There were 83 structure fires in 2023; there were 80 in 2022.
Anderson said the trend in 2023 was “run volume.”
“But that’s what we do,” he said. “It’s public assist, or lift assists. It’s where the people aren’t hurt. You have an elderly couple who live alone and one has fallen and the other can’t help.
“It gets us in the home, and when the guys are there, they look for trip hazards and different things we can address to help issues down the road.”
Recruitment and retention
Anderson said the city’s fire division is not immune to the national issue of recruiting new hires and keeping those new hires.
“It’s tough to find people to take the test,” he said, adding he remembers the day when a couple hundred people would compete for a few open positions at the local firehouse.
“Now, we’re lucky to have a dozen to 20 people looking to fill one or two positions,” Anderson said.
The chief said the city’s fire division opened up to lateral transfers to help fill needs. He said the division began allowing lateral transfers in September 2023.
The program essentially allows full-time firefighters with a completed probationary period and trained paramedics to be hired at different fire departments across the state, according to the Ohio Fire Chief’s Association.
Anderson said the city gained one hire last year through the program.
The division hired three new firefighters in 2023. They were all replacements, he said. He knows of one retirement planned for this year.
Two hires are on the way, Anderson said. The hires will bring the fire division up to a full 38 people.
Station 1 building, other big purchases
Central Station at Cleveland Avenue is more than 50 years old. The chief said the building received some exterior work to the brick in 2023 and also ordered a new generator.
The inside is getting some electrical work done later this year, Anderson said. He also said the building is due for an upgraded security system.
He and the entire fire division also eagerly awaits the delivery of a $1.5 million ladder truck that city council ordered in September 2022. Anderson said it’s due for an early 2025 delivery.
Before that comes, the fire division will get a new ambulance; it should get delivered later this year, he said.
Find more statistics for the fire division on its website.