GREENFIELD — Despite growth in the area, officials with the Greenfield Fire Territory (GFT) say their run numbers for 2023 leveled off and were close to 2022 numbers with an estimated 5,100 run totals for each of the past two years.
Fire chief Jason Horning says, for the most part, things are stable when it comes to personnel, pay, equipment and space for the fire service. However, Horning noted, when looking at the fire service as a whole, GFT is in need of a third station. He’d like to see a new station built to the east of town and hopes that within the next couple of years plans for that will become a reality.
In the meantime, officials with the GFT are moving forward with a plan to have for the first time civilian paramedics on their ambulances. That will allow them to take their trained paramedic/firefighters off the ambulances, transitioning them to being firefighters only.
“If you look across the board, the numbers for people becoming EMS/firefighters isn’t exactly skyrocketing,” GFT public information officer Luke Eichholtz said. “Finding people who are trained and capable of doing both is becoming increasingly more difficult.”
Eichholtz noted they’re not only competing against other departments in Hancock County for personnel, but they’re also going against Hamilton and Marion counties when trying to find the best people.
“The new civilian paramedics will be full-time and will be on the same rotations as anyone in the department,” Eichholtz said. “They will just be able to focus on one thing, which is providing EMS care.”
The three new civilian EMS employees, Joshua Hensley, Breanna Ashby and Michael Griffith are expected to start the first week of February. This comes after the new hires were put through a hiring process which included simulations to make sure they were trained properly. All the new civilian paramedic hires are official licensed paramedics.
“Our firefighters will still be trained and certified at the same medical level we’ve always been trained at, but the focus for firefighters will now be shifted more to being firefighters,” Eichholtz said.
The GFT has 16 people per 24 hour (3) shifts and will go up to 17 per shift has soon as the new paramedics officially come on board next month. That will give the department 51 full-time firefighters and paramedics.
While Horning says they now have enough personnel to get the job done, they do not have enough employees to add the third station just yet.
“I feel like the council and mayor have worked hard to utilize all the tools the state will allow us to use to get the funding we need for a third station, but the revenue that we need to hire for a third station is going to be a constant goal,” Horning said.
Horning noted he’s already had several good conversations with new Greenfield Mayor, Guy Titus, who Horning feels truly understands the importance of keeping the community safe and moving forward.
“I feel like the new mayor and the new council people are really going to be proactive in getting us all the things we need to make sure we’re staying ahead and not falling behind,” Horning said.
The GFT will put a third ambulance in service this year for at least 50% of the time and Horning noted that will help out in their coverage.
“That’s kind of the first step moving forward to getting that third station,” Horning said. “Hopefully we’re just a couple years away from that because the area is growing and we’re moving towards that direction.”
When approved, Horning said the best place for the third fire station is near Apple Street and N. Blue Road toward the east end of their coverage area.
“Putting it there would allow for some overlap from our current two stations, but it also allows for plenty of future growth that way which we know is going to happen,” Horning said
As for the run totals leveling off in 2023, Horning noted they had a large increase in runs from 2021 to 2022, but things were steady during the last 12 months.
“That’s kind of how growth happens in spurts,” Horning said.
Eichholtz noted COVID slowed down and shifted, requiring fewer runs in 2023. However, he said they do expect runs to increase in 2024 due to adding the third ambulance. Right now, they’re operating with two ambulances and have to call other departments when their two ambulances are busy. The addition of the third ambulance will change that.
Overall, Horning, who is entering his second full year as the GFT chief, is feeling good about where the department stands and he noted personnel turnover has actually stopped due to pay increases.
“All in all, I feel very optimistic about where the department is headed, and we’re looking forward to serving the community in 2024 and for several more years to come,” Horning said.
