08/29/2022
There was a recent article posted in the YS newspaper about MTFR that seems to have caused some confusion. The following points are the facts about what was posted in the paper:
1. "A shift is 7am-3pm, B shift is 3pm-11pm, and C shift is 11pm-7am"
All 3 shifts, A, B, and C are 24 hour shifts from 7am-7am. Part time staff either work 12 or 24 hour shifts on a 6 day rotation. This means they work one 24 hour shift (1 full day), every 6 days. Full time staff work 24 hour shifts on a 3 day rotation. This means they work one 24 hour shift (1 full day) every 3 days. Or put another way, 1 day on, 2 days off.
2. "Part time staff make $17/hour"
This is not true at all. Part time EMT's are currently paid between $12.48-$14/hour with supervisory EMT's being in the $14 range.
3. "They have approximately 15 volunteers"
MTFR began as a purely volunteer department, where members would respond from home to emergency calls. However, with the natural increase in population, call volumes increased as well. Call volume overwhelmed the solely volunteer response, creating a need for paid staff at the firehouse 24 hours a day. As the volunteer base began to dwindle, the need for paid part time and full time staff increased. This follows a trend of the decreasing amount of volunteers, that is present nationwide. As economic need to work has increased, people have less time to volunteer due to having to work more hours to support their families. While, MTFR was a purely volunteer department, it is true that we had upwards of 20, even 30 volunteers, on call, ready to respond to emergencies. But that is simply not the case anymore. MTFR is a part time/full time department, with supplemental volunteers only. And there are only 4 of those supplemental volunteers on the active roster.
We hope these corrections help the community understand a little more about how Miami Township Fire Rescue operates . Those of us at MTFR are proud to serve your community.