COLUMBUS, Ohio — Brownouts are happening at fire stations at a time when the greater Columbus area is growing exponentially. Brownouts are when a fire station temporary closes, typically on a shift-by-shift basis.
Chiefs around central Ohio say they are desperate to keep up with staffing.
“Daily staffing continues to be a struggle. We are still operating with reduced staffing. We have firetrucks and medics that are closed on daily basis based on staffing,” said Kevin Garwick, the president of Newark Fire Department’s union.
In an effort to show lawmakers, the International Association of Professional Fire Fighters hosted a training session teaching how tough the job is, and the needs that exist.
“This has been such a great experience. So glad I got to experience this Fire Ops because I already had an appreciation for our safety forces, especially our firefighters,” said Sen. Michele Reynolds.
Reynolds sits on the workforce development committee and was also put to the test.
“What I learned today is if we don't have the resources, especially for these rural departments, they may go away and lives will not be saved. We have to to help our heroes do their job,” she said.
Sergeant at Arms of the Ohio Fire Chief’s Association, Steve Kelly, explains the problem.
“Those folks are retiring now. We are having a really big problem trying to recruit the next generation firefighters and public safety professionals into our business” Kelly said.
At the fire station, Garwick hopes Reynolds can help his department.
“There's definitely a labor shortage of firefighters in central Ohio. That's not unique to Newark. Most places are hiring,” Garwick said.
Like many departments, Newark changed their policy this year to hire firefighters who were not certified as paramedics. It can take up to two years for those to be fully certified and count towards full staffing levels.
"That is a change this year. At the beginning of the year, after January we had 14 vacancies and there was nobody applying. They had to do something,” Garwick said.
Garwick says even when they can hire, they have a hard time keeping certified firefighters.
“That's almost 50% of our total staff that we have lost in the last 5 years. 50% turnover in 5 years is just unsustainable,” Garwick said.
On the west side of Columbus in Franklin Township, Chief Bob Arnold says he can hire people.
“Here are Franklin, we are fully staffed and that is thanks in part due to a safer grant through FEMA. The federal government is funding 10 of our firefighters, out of 39,” Arnold explained.
That grant doesn't keep firefighters at the department.
“A lot of times, we get a firefighter for a year or two, then they move on either for a paycheck, to sleep more at night or whatever benefit,” Arnold said.
Arnold explains there were hundreds of people applying for jobs when he started his career, and now, there's a fraction of that.
“I think it would help to get into the high schools and continually let high school kids know that this job pays well, the benefits are still amazing. The schedule is tremendous,” Arnold said.
That's where Reynolds agrees and promises to do her part.
“This is a complex issue. We need more workforce, but we also need to make sure there are career pathways for our young people and that we entice them to get involved in this profession,” she said.
The good news is that at the Ohio Fire Academy, they are training more recruits to become professional firefighters.
They have increased their student enrollment from 24 to 36 per class in hopes of meeting the increasing demands for additional firefighters.