In the Wooster Division of Fire, all of our Firefighters/EMT’s are trained to the highest level within the State of Ohio, and most are also certified Paramedics and are required to maintain their certification with the State Of Ohio. All Paramedics are required to have 94 hours of continuing education every three years to continue to be State certified, and all firefighters are also required to have 54 hours of continuing education every three years. A majority of the continuing education is done in-house with the departments' instructors.
The majority of our emergency calls are requests for emergency medical assistance requiring Basic and/or Advanced Life Support. We are the First Responders for all 911 life safety concerns in the City of Wooster. In 2018, the Division responded to a total of 4422 calls, of that, 3557 were EMS calls.
The daily duties of Firefighters/EMT’s include:
- Responding to emergencies
- Training
- Physical fitness
- Equipment maintenance and repairs
- Station maintenance and repairs
- Daily station duties
- Paper work and documentation
Other duties might include the following:
- Fire inspections and prevention
- Continuing education classes
- Station tours
- Community events
- Assisting residents with questions and problems when they’re not sure who to call
The Wooster Division of Fire currently has 3 Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulances, and each responds with at least 2 Paramedics to emergency incidents. Upon expansion to the third station in 2016, the division will have a total of 4 ALS ambulances, keeping one in reserve as a back-up. Along with the inventory required by the ORC;4766-2-10 equipment requirements, some of the more advanced equipment each ambulance carries:
- LIFEPAK® 15 monitor/defibrillator with 12 lead and transmitting capabilities to WCH
- Zoll AutoPulse Resuscitation System which provides high-quality automated CPR to victims of sudden cardiac arrest
We operate under Wooster Community Hospital (WCH) Medical Control, and we only transport to the local WCH Emergency Department. The division’s patient care reporting system to the State of Ohio utilizes IMS software and iPads.