Springfield Township Fire Chief Barry Cousino presented a year-in-review of fire and EMS operations to Holland Village Council at a December 12 meeting.
2023 marks the 18th year the village has contracted with Springfield Township to provide service.
“Our department has grown quite a bit since,” the chief said, adding the township now has contracts for fire/EMS services with Harding, Spencer and Swanton townships.
The department’s mission is to have highly trained and dedicated professionals responsible for the safety and well-being of the community.
“We hold the needs of the community in the highest regard,” he said. “We have great collaboration with all of the communities.” Community relations is important to the department which offers a number of outreach programs including car seat fittings, smoke alarm and bed shaker installations, fire extinguisher training, CPR and first aid training, Drug Take Back days and stop the bleed training.
The department also participates in community events such as the Wicked Wheels car show, Holland tree lighting and Halloween patrol. They also assist Springfield Schools at sporting events, competitions and career day presentations.
One community program, in which takes the department takes pride is the HERO project. The Health, Education, Resources Outreach project was launched in 2020 with Sylvania Township Fire Department.
The program offers help to residents in the community in need of assistance who want to still be able to live at home.
Through the installation of shower handles, ramps and other safety devices, the departments have reported an 82 percent reduction in patient calls as a result of falls in the first year, Chief Cousino said.
He noted that the union with the village has benefitted Holland residents over the years. Response time alone has gone from more than 10 minutes in 2005 when the village had an all volunteer force, to 4 minutes 46 seconds today with a trained staff of 40 paramedics.
The chief pointed out the shorter response time also is well below the national average of eight minutes.
He provided statistics of activity in the village between December 1, 2022 and November 30, 2023.
There were 20 annual inspections and 21 reinspections along with 11 plan reviews; six state; five each fire alarm and final remodel; two special, and one adoption/ foster/home study. The department responded to a number of alarms. The most frequent were 222, 1125 Clarion Avenue; 84, 1160 Mc-Cord Road; 63, 1355 Mc-Cord; 29, 1140 McCord; 14, 1470 McCord; 15, 7001 Orchard Centre Drive and 12, 7059 Orchard Centre.
They handled 488 EMS calls in the village with January recording the highest number of calls. The majority, 75 percent were EMS calls with the remainder fire.
Of the fire calls last year only two were in the village; a warehouse on South Mc-Cord Road, and a residence on Columbus resulting in damages that totaled $4,500.
“That’s pretty good,” Chief Cousino said.
Responding to the calls are department staff comprised of 49 full-time, 12 part-time and 10 contingent employees.
There are 65 employees with the firefighter II certification and 40 who are paramedics, he explained. In addition, 20 are certified as fire safety inspectors, 20 incident safety officers, 10 EMS instructors and fire instructors and seven CPR instructors.
Chief Cousino told council the department has acquired new equipment including 12 sets of turnout gear, five selfcontained breathing apparatus, a new wheeled coach ambulance and battery-powered hydraulic rescue tools.
On order are a 2023 Wheeled Coach ambulance and a 2025 Sutphen custom fire engine. They also have two cadaver dogs which are used in the township and other jurisdictions as needed.
“These dogs have been very useful,” he added.
Coming in 2024 will be a baby box at the McCord Road fire station. The box can be used to drop off anonymously a baby without fear of criminal charges.
The chief closed by noting several organizations on which he sits. He is chairman of the Lucas County EMS policy board He also serves on the Lucas County 911 Regional Council of Governments board of directors and the One Ohio region 4 board of directors.
The former meets monthly to discuss implementation and operation of the regional communications system, and the later is responsible for developing guidelines and policies for dispersal of the Big Pharma Opioid settlements.
Mayor Lee Irons thanked the chief for the presentation. “We are grateful for all you do. This is one of the biggest bangs we get for our buck in the village,” he added.
The mayor described the fire department as “a leader of all fire services in Lucas County.”
~Jane Maiolo
