COLUMBUS, Ohio — As the winds of change push through Walnut Township, Fire Chief Robert Price knows it’s a change his department desperately needs.
“It is a concern to me because we’re not the only ones that are having this problem,” Price said.
Last year, Walnut Twp. went on about 1,500 emergency calls, but the workforce, made up of volunteer and part-paid employees, has been dwindling.
“Again, $16 an hour to be a paramedic firefighter,” Price said. “How many people are willing to lay their life on the line for 16 dollars an hour?”
Price said in the last two years more than two dozen of his firefighters have headed to better jobs, better pay and better opportunities in Columbus, Newark, Lancaster, Madison Township and West Licking.
The township oversees three fire stations located in Millersport, Fairfield Beach and Thurston.
Price said at a minimum he needs three people at each location. With shortages, he’s lucky to get half of that.
As a result, the stations at Thurston and Fairfield Beach have been alternating being understaffed in order to consolidate manpower where it’s most needed.
Price said Walnut Twp. has not had an issue with response thanks to mutual aid from departments in Thorn Township, Basil, Pleasant, Hebron, Buckeye Lake and West Licking.
“We could not provide the service that we do without having these mutual aid partners that we have,” Price said.
The $1.8 million Walnut Twp. receives from county tax revenue only goes so far, Price said. And, after equipment costs, it goes fast.
It was just awarded the federal SAFER grant, which will hire three full-time firefighters for the next three years. Price said that is only a starting point - where it ultimately might finish is with tax payers.
“We’re gonna put it off as long as we can, [but] yes, it’s coming,” he said.
Price said that eventually, a bond measure will be necessary for better pay for his workers and for a better sense of security for those who call Walnut Twp. home.