CENTERBURG — The Central Ohio Joint Fire District is asking voters to approve an additional three-year, 2.925-mill levy for fire and EMS services when they go to the polls on May 8. The levy will generate $393,700. For homeowners, that means the owner of a home valued at $100,000 will pay 28 cents a day.
COJFD Chief Joe Porter says the purpose of the levy is three-fold:
- To raise compensation rates
- To raise staffing levels
- To retain staff
Porter said that 137 firefighters have left the department for better pay elsewhere. Many of the firefighters who left have stayed local, going to Mount Vernon, Johnstown, and Delaware departments. A few have gone to Columbus.
“I go to meetings, and I’m constantly being congratulated on how well the COJFD trains their firefighters,” he said.
“The bottom line is, we are not getting many people to apply anymore,” said Dave Beck, levy committee member and Centerburg’s mayor. “We have to be competitive to stay in business.”
“We also need to get our staff back to five positions,” said Porter.
When Liberty Township pulled out of the district, the department had to cut staffing from five to four, and sometimes three, on a shift. The industry standard is a minimum of 4.1 firefighters on a shift; the preference is six. An EMS run requires at least two personnel; a fire run requires a minimum of three.
“With three people [on a shift], we can only go on one run, so it really affects service,” said Beck.
“So we need to get back to five, and, looking at potential growth, maybe get up to six,” said Porter.
“We need to get back up to full-time positions, too,” added Beck. “It’s more cost-effective to pay and keep them than it is to keep hiring new [firefighters] and retrain them.”
The COJFD has 10 full-time and seven part-time firefighters. Porter’s goal is five full-time firefighters 24/7.
Regarding staff retention, Porter said that one-third of the firefighters are in their 20’s; half of them are in their early 20’s.
“What will happen is, if we don’t pay them competitively, we will lose them as they gain experience,” said Porter.
COJFD firefighters get around $13 an hour.
“It’s ridiculous when you pay $20 or $30 an hour to someone to work on your car, and $13 to someone to save your life,” said Hilliar Township Trustee Don McCracken, also a member of the levy committee.
Porter said he analyzed data collected from a survey of Central Ohio fire departments, looking specifically at departments similar to the population of the COJFD. According to the data, the median pay for a firefighter/paramedic is $56,032 compared to $44,091 for COJFD. For lieutenants in the survey, the median is $63,523; at COJFD, it’s $56,000. For captains surveyed, the median salary is $68,354 compared to $62,925 for COJFD.
“Where we are trying to top out is around $55,000 rather than $30,000 to $40,000,” said Porter. “We also want to provide or help provide family health care.”
In addition to providing excellent service to residents in the fire district, the number and training of personnel play a role in insurance rates for property owners. The COJFD has an ISO (Insurance Services Office) rating of Class 05/5Y. The first class (05) applies to properties within five road miles of a recognized fire station and within 1,000 feet of a fire hydrant/alternate water supply. The second class (5Y) applies to properties within five road miles of a recognized fire station but beyond 1,000 feet of a fire hydrant.
The ISO classification is based on a scale of 1 to 10 with one being the best. It’s made up of three areas:
- Emergency communications 10% (county 911 dispatch center)
- Fire department 50% (equipment availability, deployment capability, personnel training)
- Water supply 40% (capability of system, size/type/installation of hydrants, inspection/testing of hydrants)
COJFD scoring:
- Emergency communications: 5.7 out of 10
- Fire department: 19.13 out of 50
- Water supply: 26.43 out of 40
- Overall score: 50.46 out of 105.5
The department cannot do much about the emergency communications as that’s the purview of the Knox County 9-1-1. Porter said the center is upgrading its equipment and phone system, which will ultimately improve COJFD’s score in that area.
Within the fire department section, the COJFD scored well on equipment capability; the areas lacking are deployment (1.49 out of 10), personnel (5.91 out of 15), and training (2.63 out of 9). If the department can hire additional personnel with levy money, the deployment score will increase. With a more competitive pay scale and retention of personnel, the training score will increase.
If the department can score 9.54 more points through increased deployment capability and staff training, it can raise its ISO rating from Class 5 to Class 4. The higher rating is what affects insurance rates.
“The more people we send on a fire, the more potential there is it will lower your homeowner’s insurance,” explained Porter. “On the one hand, we’re asking for this much from the homeowner [for the levy], but the homeowner will save on their premium.”
The ISO score also includes community awareness and prevention education, most of which falls to Phil Lohmeyer, fire prevention officer for the COJFD.
“More staff will help in being able to do programs at the schools, assisted living homes and senior centers,” said Lohmeyer. “With having the additional staff, I can set up those programs, and they will be there to help do that.”
Lohmeyer said that increased staffing will also help in the areas of hydrant inspection and flow testing, both of which can increase the ISO score.
McCracken wants to make sure residents know the fire levy is separate from the building expansion project to the fire station.
“I think it’s important to know that this levy is not for the building,” he said. “We’ve got that all worked out. It’s for the people.”
