“This will complete our compliment of paid staff to meet our labor management agreement,’’ said Chief Thomas Lakamp.
That agreement reduced the weekly hours firefighters worked from 54 to 52 hours, Lakamp said.
“As a result of that agreement we had to staff up. We were never staffed for leave,’’ Lakamp said.
“If two people were off – calling in sick or vacation – it automatically triggered one overtime shift.”
Firefighters still work 24 hours on and 48 hours off. Every six weeks they will get five consecutive days off to reduce the average number of hours worked weekly, based on a 28-day cycle.
“It averages out over the year to be a 52-hour work week,’’ Lakamp said.
The department still has three part-time firefighters who were grandfathered in. Two have 30 years of experience with the department. Each work a 24-hour shift every sixth day.
Of the newly hired firefighters, seven are certified as paramedics, the other two have three years to get their certification, under their hiring agreement.
All the paramedics have 4-7 years of experience except one, who has 17 years. The two certified as emergency medical technicians have 1-2 years of experience.
“We had them for a one-week orientation last week and they more than proved themselves worthy of working for the Fairfield Fire Department,” Lakamp said.
“We are super excited to have them and look forward to having them spending the rest of their career here.”
Lakamp said since his arrival and the process to convert the department to a fulltime one, there is no longer the quick turnover of staff who left for fulltime jobs.
“We’ve got a good thing going here. They (new firefighters) want to be a part of it. They want to work with the people we have working here,’’ Lakamp said.
“Their (current firefighters) desire to get better is driven from the bottom up. They treat everyone well. I always say ‘If I get sick, I want to get sick in Fairfield.’ We have been really fortunate to attract really good people.”
The firefighters sworn in, years of experience, and the most recent department they worked for are: (All are certified as a paramedic except as noted)
Colson Bryan: 1 year, Oxford, EMT
Marcus Carpenter: 1.5 years, New Lebanon, EMT
Austin Flannery, 7 years, Forest Park
Jake Hendricks, 7.5 years, Montgomery
Sarah Markey, 4 years, Deerfield Twp.
Brooke Owens, 7 years, Washington Twp.
Aaron Roesch, 4 years, Forest Park
Zach Smith, 17 years, Monroe
Chris Spinosi, 2.5 years, Forest Park
About the Author