Penn Township to contract with North Joint Fire/EMS District for services
By
Brandy Chandler-brandychandler@gmail.com
The Penn Township Board of Trustees will be contracting with the Highland County North Joint Fire and Ambulance District in Leesburg for EMS services beginning at the end of June. The district will take over fire services in August.
According to Penn Township Trustee Daryl Bumgarner, the fire district had already been contracting with Penn Township for partial EMS coverage, "So we just contracted for them to take care of it all."
District Chief Ken Stevens said that the contract has not yet been signed, and some details are still being finalized," but we have obligated to take over in July.
"We have talked some numbers with Penn Township, but we have not signed a formal contract," Stevens said. "We will be meeting in about a week and a half to sign the contract."
Timothy Thuering, president of the Highland County North Fire District Firefighters Association said that, "starting on July 1 at midnight we'll be taking over the rest of Penn Township, as far as EMS. On Aug. 20 at midnight we will take over for fire."
Stevens said that when the district formed, Penn Township was divided into thirds, with New Vienna fire crews taking one section, the district taking a second section, and Hillsboro Fire and Rescue taking a third section. New Vienna will still be responsible for its section, but the district will not be responsible for two-thirds.
"We currently cover into Samantha, including Samantha, and the new area is everything south of Fall Creek and High Top Road. They cross on the south edge of Samantha. Anything south, we will be taking on as new," Stevens said.
Stevens said the district currently has three full-time EMS personnel.
"We have a day crew that is full time. We cover Monday through Sunday, seven days a week, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The volunteers pick up everything else that the day crew does not. We've talked about hiring a fourth (full-timer) and expanding the hours a little bit, or maybe with a part-timer. But there has only been a little bit of discussion on that as we take on more territory. That has not been approved by the board, and that's only speculation at this point. But we are always looking for more volunteers."
Thuering said that because the district has expanded, more people are now eligible to be volunteers in the new area.
"We're trying to let people know that we are looking for more volunteers, and they can come in and fill out an application," Thuering said.
For more information, contact the fire station at (937) 780-6909, which is located at 200 South Street in Leesburg.
The Penn Township Board of Trustees will be contracting with the Highland County North Joint Fire and Ambulance District in Leesburg for EMS services beginning at the end of June. The district will take over fire services in August.
According to Penn Township Trustee Daryl Bumgarner, the fire district had already been contracting with Penn Township for partial EMS coverage, "So we just contracted for them to take care of it all."
District Chief Ken Stevens said that the contract has not yet been signed, and some details are still being finalized, "but we have obligated to take over in July.
"We have talked some numbers with Penn Township, but we have not signed a formal contract," Stevens said. "We will be meeting in about a week and a half to sign the contract."
Timothy Thuering, president of the Highland County North Fire District Firefighters Association, said that "starting on July 1 at midnight, we'll be taking over the rest of Penn Township, as far as EMS. On Aug. 20 at midnight, we will take over for fire."
Stevens said that when the district formed, Penn Township was divided into thirds, with New Vienna fire crews taking one section, the district taking a second section, and Hillsboro Fire and Rescue taking a third section. New Vienna will still be responsible for its section, but the district will not be responsible for two-thirds.
"We currently cover into Samantha, including Samantha, and the new area is everything south of Fall Creek and High Top Road. They cross on the south edge of Samantha. Anything south, we will be taking on as new," Stevens said.
Stevens said the district currently has three full-time EMS personnel.
"We have a day crew that is full time. We cover Monday through Sunday, seven days a week, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The volunteers pick up everything else that the day crew does not. We've talked about hiring a fourth (full-timer) and expanding the hours a little bit, or maybe with a part-timer. But there has only been a little bit of discussion on that as we take on more territory. That has not been approved by the board, and that's only speculation at this point. But we are always looking for more volunteers."
Thuering said that because the district has expanded, more people are now eligible to be volunteers in the new area.
"We're trying to let people know that we are looking for more volunteers, and they can come in and fill out an application," Thuering said.
For more information, contact the fire station at (937) 780-6909, which is located at 200 South Street in Leesburg.
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