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Fire chief: internal review shows coverage gaps; ISO remediation expected
Summary
Hiram Fire Chief Marotta reported multiple instances of no coverage in electronic records from 2023–2025, said mutual aid contact timing has been shortened, and described a one-year ISO remediation plan; the council discussed staffing and training while hiring two new firefighter/EMTs.
Chief Marotta told the Hiram Village Council on May 19 that an internal review of the fire department’s electronic records found multiple instances in 2023, 2024 and 2025 where there was no coverage. He said his review was not exhaustive and that there are likely additional unrecorded gaps.
Marotta described an operational change to mutual-aid activation: the department implemented a temporary policy to contact mutual aid four minutes after an initial call, replacing a previous eight-minute wait. He said response times during a recent 33-hour shutdown were faster because calls went directly to mutual aid rather than waiting.
The chief reported two recently hired firefighter/EMT employees, raises for medics, ongoing documented trainings, and a current roster of 16 employees with two on leave. He said he has met with the insurance-services-office (ISO) representative and that the department is overdue on ISO training records. Marotta said he expects the upcoming ISO report to note deficiencies but that the department already has corrective actions underway and anticipates a one-year remediation period.
Council members did not take a formal policy vote on staffing during the meeting, but the council later approved tabling an employee handbook amendment regarding fire department overtime to re-evaluate once new employees are on board.
The council did not provide further funding or scheduling directives during the public portion of the meeting; the chief said training coordination with neighboring Troy is part of the remediation plan.
