Departments this year lost 185 years of experience

Middletown police, fire veterans retire; services look to hire, train more.

Middletown’s two public safety chiefs are facing the same challenge: Replacing many years of experience after multiple longtime employees retired.

Middletown Division of Fire had two members retire this year, Deputy Fire Chief David Adams and firefighter/paramedic Tim Kinsworthy, who had 29 and 28 years experience, respectively. The department may have two more firefighters retire this year, said Chief Paul Lolli.

Police Chief David Birk is dealing with even more loss of veterans. So far this year, six members of the police force have retired, taking more than 128 years of experience. And that doesn’t include detective Larry Fultz, who plans to retire next month after 33 years, and Deputy Chief Scott Reeve, who’s retiring in September after 35 years.

Lolli said seven firefighters/ EMTs have been hired, and if the department receives a Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant, six more will be hired this year.

Lolli, who has worked in Middletown for 32 years, said 24% of his 81-member staff have at least 25 years of experience, while 53% have less than 10 years on the job.

He said those in public safety with at least 25 years experience are eligible to retire. Most firefighters and police officers, once they reach 25 years, enroll in the Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP), a program that allows them to freeze their pension into another retirement account. They must stay in the program for five

Retirees

Middletown police Chief David Birk has lost six officers and 128 years of experience this year due to retirements. He said making good hires and proper training are keys to replacing experienced officers.