Fire and police chiefs report staffing, training and police-station timeline

Fire Chief Bill Broward told council the department responded to 27 calls on Dec. 11 and has logged 310 calls for the year — "about a 20% increase over 2023," he said — and distributed his annual report for staff and council use in grant applications and state reporting.

Broward outlined scheduled training: a tactical response class for natural-gas emergencies, a two-day ice-rescue class likely to be held Jan. 31–Feb. 1 at Rance Marina and multiple firefighter- and EMT-certification courses to raise the department’s staffing certifications to 10 Firefighter II, nine Firefighter I, 11 basic EMTs and three paramedics.

Police Chief Chris Hart told council that Michael Perhota began work as a full-time patrol officer to fill a vacancy and that the city is awaiting civil-service certification results for a sergeant promotion. Hart said the builder anticipates the new police station will be substantially complete by October and staff are planning the move-out and cleanup of the department’s current facility to make the property presentable for auction.

Council members asked about training priorities and the station timeline; Hart said the remaining work is largely IT, radio and equipment connections. Chief Broward noted the state Fire Academy collaboration and a pilot natural-gas training program being opened locally through the Lorain and Erie County fire chiefs, saying the new curriculum addresses more technical tactics than prior practice.

No formal actions accompanied the public-safety reports; chiefs provided status updates and answered council questions.