Keeping Recruits in Uniform

Ohio Fire Chiefs from a twenty-two county region gather at the Muskingum County Emergency Management Agency to discuss topics important to their profession.

At Thursday’s meeting the chiefs discussed a grant available through the Ohio Fire Chief Association. The Safer Grant trains departments on how to get recruits and keep them. This is especially important when it comes to volunteer staffs.

"One average my fire department does 12 hundred runs a year and an average run is two hours," explained President of the Southeast East Ohio Fire Chief Association Brent Gates. "On a squad run there is three people. You start paying wages, who’s going to come up with more taxes?"

The chiefs also took tours of the new Pierce Fire Engine built by Finley Fire Equipment in McConnelsville. This new piece of technology uses the CAFS system to help fight fires.

"That’s where you take a little bit of water and foam kind of mixed together to a certain pressure," said Gates. "It hardly weighs anything and it puts out the fire and causes the least amount of damage using foam and air and a little bit of water technology."

The first training session through the Safer Grant will take place in May 13-14 in Cambridge.