HURON COUNTY, Ohio — Ohio's volunteer fire departments are struggling, that is according to a recent report released by Governor Mike DeWine's task force on volunteer fire service. The report states that fire calls are up by 9%, whereas volunteer firefighting staffing is down by 6.5%.
The task force report finds volunteers give up their time to respond to more calls, now with fewer resources. The aging population of volunteers is hanging up their gear, with the next generation nowhere to be found. Training is expensive and timely, and equipment costs also continue to skyrocket.
Departments that are already strapped for resources day to day are going to be on the front lines when Northeast Ohio is flooded with people during the April 8 solar eclipse. Many parts of Northeast Ohio will be in the path of totality.
"We know our first responders are going to be stretched on that day, and we've told everybody county wide that they're going to be stretched," said New London Village Administrator Shawn Pickworth.
Pickworth is expecting RVs from all over the country to pull up and watch the eclipse at campgrounds like New London Reservoir.
"We set aside 50 sites for campers for people to come, and we're hoping to fill those 50 sites, and if there's any other campers, we'll definitely accommodate them," said Pickworth.
With the influx of people potentially jam-packed into these wide-open spaces, there could be more calls into the numerous volunteer departments that serve the majority of Huron County.
Jeffrey Scott volunteers at one of those departments, "for the agency I'm with, we're scrambling to try to be able to fill 3 squads with paramedics to make sure that our four townships are equally covered," said Scott.
Scott wants to be out on the front lines on April 8th, but he has a full-time desk job, "some of their struggle right now is the fact that they're going to have to use vacation time or personal time off in order to make sure that their local agencies are covered."
To get more boots on the ground, Scott thinks it's time to start calling on paramedics, EMTs, and firefighters from across the state.
"Whether it's one or two people coming from another department, maybe down around Cincinnati that could come up into the zone, one of the departments in the zone that may be a volunteer department and maybe just needs one or two people," said Scott.
In Norwalk, the fire department is one of only two professional departments in the whole county. Norwalk's roster of 19 firefighters keeps them busy on an average day.
"We're worried about the you know somebody wakes up, oh it's going to be a nice clear day, let's take a trip to Norwalk," said Chief Dan Strayer.
The department is already adding extra manpower for the eclipse and thinking strategically about getting to people who might need help, "we have some small side-by-side vehicles that we're going to use that day just in case we need to get to a place that's inaccessible because of traffic."
Veterans Memorial Park in Huron County will be a popular viewing spot. Many of the parks in the county will be hosting food trucks and viewing parties. Chief Strayer said his crews are preparing for more than four minutes of total darkness.
Professional or volunteer, all first responders are going to be busy on April 8.
"It all boils down to one thing, getting the bodies in the vehicles to make sure that they can respond to the emergencies and for a lot of agencies they're struggling tremendously for that to occur," said Scott.
