Business is booming for the Oxford Fire Department.
Last year, firefighters responded to a total of 2,044 calls, of which 1,739 were medical-related and 305 were fire-related.
That’s up 90 calls from 2013, which saw 1,627 medical calls and 327 fire calls.
‘We’ve had a steady increase every single year,? said Fire Chief Pete Scholz. ‘I would attribute some of it to the population change.?
Medical calls include everything from general illness to cardiac issues to vehicular crashes. Fire calls include structure fires, odor investigations (when someone smells smoke or natural gas), downed or arcing wires and residents burning without a permit.
2015 is off to a busy start as the department had already responded to 30 calls as of Jan. 7.
‘This year is going to be another tight year,? Scholz said.
The rising call volume has been taking its toll on the paid-on-call staff, which is the backbone of the department.
‘It’s definitely difficult for the paid-on-call (members),? the chief said. ‘They’re getting burned out.?
Although the department has 13 full-time firefighters, including the chief, it still relies heavily on its 23 paid-on-call members to respond to scenes and drive ambulances.
Fortunately, the department hired six additional paid-on-call staffers in December and three of them already have their emergency medical technician license. They all started taking classes last week through the North Oakland Training Consortium’s Fire Academy, according to the chief.
The consortium is made up of fire departments from 10 townships and cities. They all provide instructors for the fire academy, so there’s no cost to the students.
In November, Oxford voters approved a 1-mill increase for the fire department, which will allow the agency to hire two additional full-time firefighters/paramedics, plus create a part-time position.
This part-time position would be filled from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week by multiple people, each of whom would work no more than 24 hours a week.
However, that millage won’t be levied until December 2015 which means the additional funds won’t be available until next year’s budget.
But Scholz is hoping to find some wiggle room in the current budget and hire them this year using reserve monies.
‘If there’s anything I can squeeze out of fund balance to do it any sooner, I’m potentially going to look at doing that,? he said.