First responders
Atwater, Randolph townships decide not to pursue contracted service agreement between fire departments
‘With most of our rural communities, volunteerism has drastically decreased.’
By Paige Bennett
News Lab
In April, Randolph Fire Chief Michael Lang Jr. contacted Atwater Township’s trustees about an idea that would give both townships 24-hour emergency medical coverage by jointly hiring a third-shift paramedic.
By the end of the month, the idea was scrapped after the proposal created controversy among Atwater residents and first responders, who believed Randolph was attempting to take over their fire department. Officials from both townships say that’s not the case.
However, the episode highlights the growing challenges among rural emergency services providers. Across the country, the number of volunteer firefighters has hit record lows, according to the National Fire Protection Association, a trend that hits smaller communities hardest, including in Portage County.
“We currently have our stations staffed from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. with a paramedic and then also usually a basic EMT,” Randolph Trustee Roger Klodt said. “So his [Lang’s] idea was if we could hire a third person and we could respond to both communities, Randolph and Atwater, it’d give everybody paramedic coverage 24 hours a day.”
The two townships have volunteer fire departments and in recent years, there were fewer volunteer firefighters.
“With most of our rural communities, volunteerism has drastically decreased. So [in] rural departments like ours across the country, you’re not getting people to volunteer and help like we have in the past,” Klodt said.
More than a year ago, Klodt said he and Lang began discussing ways to continue to provide emergency services despite having fewer volunteers and less money. Klodt said Lang asked him if he could contact some of Randolph Township’s neighboring communities, including Atwater Township, about the idea of working together to supply these services. No communities were initially interested, he said.
Atwater’s trustees heard Lang’s proposal during a Randolph Township trustees meeting April 6, three days after the death of Atwater’s long-time fire chief, Mel Russell.
Some Atwater residents and members of the Atwater Fire Department found the meeting’s timing disrespectful. Shirley McAlicher, an EMT with the Atwater Fire Department, said Russell wasn’t interested in working with Randolph to provide emergency services.
“There’s a lot of people in uproar over this in Atwater,” she said.
McAlicher said members of the Atwater Fire Department were concerned about the proposal because they did not want Randolph Township to occupy their department or take their EMS calls. She said there was worry that sharing calls would delay response time.
“We don’t want it because Randolph would come in and take our EMS calls,” McAlicher said. “We, the EMTs at Atwater Fire Department, wouldn’t have a chance to do our own calls.”
Although there was speculation the Atwater trustees intended to make significant changes to the fire department during the April 6 meeting, Atwater Township Trustee John Kovacich said it was only meant to be a discussion between the communities. The trustees did not plan to eliminate the Atwater Fire Department or have Randolph Township take it over, he said.
“The Atwater trustees attending the Randolph Township meeting was by no means ever about getting rid of our Atwater Fire Department or disbanding our fire department,” Kovacich wrote in a Facebook post April 9. “It was purely an informational meeting about looking out for the community and any unforeseen circumstances.”
Klodt agreed that Randolph Township did not plan to take over the Atwater Fire Department. Instead, he said, Randolph wanted to “join together with them to provide paramedic coverage for all their EMS calls.”
After the initial meeting, the Randolph and Atwater trustees decided to hold a work session April 20 to continue to discuss the proposal. According to the minutes from the work session, Randolph Township Trustee Sue White said they did not intend to disrespect Atwater by having the discussions shortly after Russell’s death and only wanted to help the community.
White also said during the work session that some Atwater residents called her after the initial meeting and expressed concern because the Atwater Fire Department did not have a paramedic at the time. Paramedics receive more hours of training than EMTs and can provide more advanced emergency care. She said she knew people living in Atwater who would call Randolph’s fire department instead of Atwater’s in medical emergencies.
Atwater Trustee Peggy Bainey said during the work session the Atwater Fire Department did not have paramedics before, but it has them now. The department may need to undergo changes in the future, she said, but it is currently functioning well.
Atwater and Randolph trustees decided not to pursue the contracted service agreement, Klodt said, describing it as a “nonissue.”
“At the present time, Atwater Fire Department has no interest in merging with any other fire department,” Thomas Nellis, interim chief at the Atwater Fire Department, wrote in an email. “We feel that we provide an excellent service to our residents, and we do not see any advantage in any combined service.”
Since the townships decided not to pursue the agreement, Kovacich said the Atwater Fire Department has increased its number of volunteers from 10 to 18. He also said he may continue to explore options for the fire department that he believes best serve Atwater Township. He said he expects small communities will need to work together in the future because they have fewer resources.
“It’s not to say I’m not going to be still looking into viable options,” Kovacich said. “But we’ll see what’s out there and what works and what fits for our community.”
This article was produced through a reporting partnership with the Collaborative News Lab @ Kent State University.
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