Fire district reduces staff after levy fails
Refugee-canyon Joint Fire District announced a staffing reduction and indefinite closure of its satellite station after levy failures last year.
In a Dec. 31 letter to residents, the agency said effective Jan. 1, they would be reducing the number of fire and EMS personnel on duty each day from eight to four. They also closed the satellite station located on Ohio 37 in Hebron indefinitely, despite just recently opening it.
“The reduction in staff and station closure is a direct result of the Union Township fire levy failing twice in 2021,” the letter stated. “Without the collection of these tax dollars in 2022, our revenue will be reduced by $435,000.00; forcing the reduction in staff and the fire station closure.”
In the letter, Fire District Chief Clifford Mason said the agency will continue to respond to emergencies, but with a smaller workforce. Some areas served by the fire district, he added, may experience a delay in response due to travel time.
The Refugee-canyon Joint Fire District was created in 2019 following an agreement between Union Township and the village of Hebron when the trustees sought to reduce response times in their jurisdiction. The thentrustees also paid $365,000 in 2019 for property to have a satellite station on Ohio 37, spending an estimated $54,000 additionally to renovate the property.
The station was operational in 2020. Some residents of Union Township expressed concern about the change in fire service, which previously was provided from Hebron Fire Department and Granville Township Fire Department. A service contract between Granville and Union Townships was terminated and Granville Township removed as automatic aid for the fire district in 2020.
On Tuesday, Refugee-canyon Joint Fire District board member Jeff Sharps explained instead of eight individuals on duty at any given time, the agency will have three full-time employees and one part-time employee assigned to work per day.
“Obviously we have an issue with fire protection in Union Township,” Sharps said. “We need to figure out a plan moving forward that the residents can support and can trust us with their money to spend it wisely for fire protection.”
Sharps said he thinks the first step is gathering a group of residents together to get their input on fire protection.
According to Sharps, he recently attended a Granville Township trustee meeting and asked them to reconsider providing automatic aid into the northern end of Union Township. They haven’t received a response yet.
“Asking Granville Township to reconsider automatic aid is only a Bandaid, a temporary solution to figuring out a plan to provide fire protection and one with longevity,” he said.
Union Township Trustee Roger Start said their job going forward will be figuring out how to resolve the issue of fire protection in Union Township, but no formal plan is in place currently.
Mason noted the reduction in staff doesn’t mean layoffs to his agency, but a change in the number of firefighters assigned each day.
“I’m devastated. Nobody ever wants to close a fire station,” Mason said. “When you close a fire station, it means the other station - in this case, the station in Hebron - will have to travel further to get to an emergency that the other station covered.”
Staff reduction, he added, was the most obvious way to work around a deficit in funding.
Mason said he’s spoken with the agency’s mutual aid partners and they’ve said they will still provide automatic aid.
“The message that needs to go out is we’re going to continue to respond in all areas of the township. It may take longer to get to certain areas of the township,” Mason said. “If folks want the level of service they were accustomed to for the past couple years, we’re going to need to pass a levy.”