Oxford To Fill Two New Fire And EMT Positions

BY JACK REYERING
Miami University journalism student
The city of Oxford is looking to reform its firefighting and emergency response teams, with searches underway for a full-time firefighter, part-time firefighter/paramedic and volunteer emergency medical technician.

The hirings are being made to fill a full-time slot in the daily schedule which was previously filled by a part-time firefighter.

“We are going to staff four people a day with two full-time captains and paramedics,” said Fire Chief John Detherage.

Detherage says he has gotten plenty of interest in the positions and doesn’t foresee a problem filling the spots by the deadline of Nov. 30.

In recent years, increased regulations have required firefighters and EMTs to respond to more and more calls in Oxford, especially to Miami University residence halls and fraternity houses.

Previously, only police responded to certain calls, then assessed the situation and called on firefighters if they were needed. Now police and firefighters respond to many calls automatically.

“I wouldn’t go back to the old system,” Detherage said. “Since we have a small staff, I’d rather take that seven or eight minutes to respond rather than wait to find out if there is an actual fire.”

Detherage believes that his staff is more than capable to respond to the volume of calls that they get. The hiring is meant to make the process smoother for the firefighters themselves.

“We currently staff four people on 24/48 rotations, meaning that they work for 24 hours and then have the next two days off,” Detherage said. “We also staff five people on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.”

Anyone looking to apply for the open positions can find the application information on the city of Oxford website.

Photo: Oxford will expand its fire department staff. -- Photo by Jack Reyering