HUBBARD — The Eagle Joint Fire District has new staff and new equipment, and since June 1 has been providing for the first time 24-hour ambulance and fire service to Hubbard city and Hubbard Township.

Fire Chief Ron Stanish and George Brown, who served as interim chief until July 1 when Stanish was on sick leave, said the fire district has been busy in the past two-and-half months since providing paramedic service. He noted on the first day, June 1, several calls were reported.

Stanish said the fire district responded to 191 calls in July and six to 10 mutual aid calls. Officials said the district’s calls are 80 percent emergency medical service and 20 percent fire / rescue.

Brown said the district took over after Lane LifeTrans notified it in April that it no longer would be able to provide the service.

“They provided ambulance service during May. We had contacted all the private companies and they were in the same boat as Lane. They would have provided the service but they did not have the personnel. They couldn’t over-commit themselves. Lane was already committed to Niles, Girard, Boardman and Austintown. We were the last ones in that group. No private company that we called had the ability to provide the service to us,” Brown said.

20-YEAR EFFORT

Fire Capt. John Bizub said what the department offers now had been a goal and expectation for years.

“We have been in talks for 20 years. For this to happen the way it is, everyone is ecstatic — from the residents, the police and officials — to have our own ambulance service,” he said.

The district serves 21,000 in Hubbard city and Hubbard Township in a 25-square-mile area. Brown said that population is larger than Howland at 19,500 and Liberty at 18,000.

All of the equipment is now in place, including two ambulances with cots, life monitors and iPads.

Brown said in June, 32 were on staff, which is now up to 44 employees in the fire district. Officials said three people are on shift Monday to Friday and two per shift on weekends.

“The ideal for us would be to have four round the clock, seven days per week,” Stanish said.

Stanish said the district is working on getting three on staff on weekends and gradually, if able, go to four. He said each shift is usually one paramedic and two basic EMS staff.

Brown said the fire district commonly gets back-to-back calls — so it wants to make sure enough people are on duty.

“The big issue on those calls is, a lot of times what comes in as a fall and we get there and it is a stroke. The people calling in may not know exactly what the health issue is,” Brown said.

EQUIPMENT

The department started leasing an ambulance from Mecca Township for 30 days and then the district purchased two used ambulances from Penn Care in Niles.

“We are on board with what we were able to get at this point,” Brown said.

Stanish said money was put aside for the equipment and other items that were needed, including equipment from University Hospitals in Cleveland. It is waiting on radios for the squads.

Brown said the district received donations and held fundraisers, reaching $15,000. He also said they were able to borrow some items from other departments that had surplus equipment.

“I have to give a lot of credit to Chief Brown who was able to do the impossible in two-and-half months. We had the funding there, but he was able to get the pieces together,” Stanish said.

STAFFING

Brown said all departments are struggling to find and keep staff as various townships and cities increase the pay.

Stanish said vacations and people working other jobs can be challenging for scheduling staff — especially in the summer months.

“It is hard to get people to fill in because no one has the spare time,” Brown said.

Stanish said before, when there was not enough staff and Lane was not available, the district had to rely on help from Liberty and other neighboring departments.

He said mutual aid is available to other departments as well.

“We are always trying to get more staffing. We are lucky that for anyone who leaves, there is always another applicant,” Stanish said.

Brown said he notices that people stay at places where they are respected and treated fairly and enjoy the work environment.

“We have a good environment here,” he said.

OVERSIGHT

The Eagle Joint Fire District Board oversees and manages the district, similar to how a city or township oversees a fire department.

City and township officials said they are pleased with the success of the district.

“With everyone working together as a team focused on one goal, we have been able to achieve what was once only a dream,” Mayor Ben Kyle said. “Talks have been held for many years to have a fire district with its own ambulance service to serve both the city and the township, and now it is a reality. I credit the hard work of all of those who were involved. This is something we can all be proud of for years to come.”

Hubbard Trustee Rick Hernandez added: “It was necessary to be able to do this. We have been able to get a lot done this year getting EMS and ambulance service.”

Hernandez said the fire board is solvent for the rest of 2022 and plans to see what can be done in 2023.

The fire board is looking to get a part-time administrative assistant and a board clerk, with the retirement of John Morris.

Hernandez said he would like to see the county commissioners consider a countywide ambulance service.