PERRYSBURG – A contingent of firefighters listened as their union president asked several council members
for help seeking answers from city administration regarding a reduction in the fire department’s minimum
shift.
Pete Scarborough, president of the local union, said policy prevents him from discussing the matter
directly with Mayor Mike Olmstead or his administration, and that he was not confident his message would
reach city leaders if presented to Fire Chief Jeff Klein.
Scarborough, who maintains that a reduction from five to four in the city’s minimum fire shift is unsafe,
sought support Monday from the three members of the Service Safety Committee: councilmen Jim Matuszak,
John Kevern and Barry VanHoozen.
The councilors listened intently and asked questions during Scarborough’s prepared remarks and
presentation, and while they promised to discuss the issue with city administrators, the group made
clear that neither it nor a full City Council has authority to take any action to address the matter,
per the city charter.
That didn’t stop the committee members from expressing interest in learning more about the reasons for
the union’s position against the staffing reduction and promising to pursue an amicable solution with
the mayor and his delegates, including City Administrator Bridgette Kabat. Olmstead, Kabat and Klein
were not present at Monday’s meeting.
"I’m very concerned about that," Kevern said in response to Scarborough’s claim that the shift
will increase response times during medical emergencies.
"I would want not one less ounce of the services available in an effort to save my family or friends
during an emergency," Scarborough said.
"It is better planning to be proactive, responding appropriately and scaling down at the emergency
scene when they are not needed, than being reactive and requesting more resources when you are
overwhelmed once you arrive."
Information presented to the committee included comparisons of select communities’ ratio of population to
firefighters; shift staffing levels since April; and a set of 2010 standards from the National Fire
Protection Association, which Scarborough said are not met by the city’s practices.
Scarborough said Perrysburg’s firefighters are generally making more money under the policy due to
automatically being called in when multiple reports are received, addressing others’ concerns that the
union was using the issue to angle for higher pay.
Echoing points made by retired Perrysburg firefighter/paramedic Gabrielle Edwards during last week’s City
Council meeting, Scarborough said crews have specific roles during emergencies that aren’t easily
reassigned to other firefighters, and that CPR is often less effective under a two-person team.
Additionally, Cindy Wilson, husband of Mike Wilson, a Perrysburg firefighter/paramedic, said the
situation poses risk to firefighters themselves, as well as those they attempt to rescue. A common
practice Wilson referenced requires a team of two that arrives at the scene of a fire to wait for
support before entering the structure to check for occupants.
"It’s about our husbands’ lives," Wilson said. "If two of these guys show up at a fire but
they’re not supposed to go in, yet one of your family members is in there screaming for help, do you
honestly think these guys are going to stand outside until help arrives?"
While pledging to have discussions with Olmstead and city administrators, Matuszak asked Scarborough to
make an effort to go through Klein in presenting his concerns.
Kevern said after the meeting that those conversations will be forthcoming.