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Former fire chief Jerry Strike urges Dayton to pilot 'duty crew' model to cut response times
Summary
Former fire chief Jerry Strike told the Dayton City Council on Oct. 28 that piloting a daytime 'duty crew'—paid-on-call volunteers staffed at the station—could reduce response-time imbalances, but council members pressed him on costs, EMS scope and ambulance-provider roles.
Jerry Strike, a former career fire chief and consultant with Capstone, told the Dayton City Council on Oct. 28 that the city should pilot a daytime "duty crew"—scheduling paid-on-call firefighters at the station during peak hours—to shorten uneven response times as the city grows.
Strike said cities are free to choose their fire-service model and noted that "There isn't 1. There's no law that requires a fire department to exist in Dayton." He framed duty crews as an incremental step that preserves volunteer-based delivery while improving daytime coverage: "A duty crew is using the same volunteer, but you're staffing them at the station during your most critical times."
Why it matters: Dayton’s growing housing stock and current staffing pattern create an imbalance in daytime versus…
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