JEFFERSON COUNTY, OHIO (WTRF)–On Tuesday, the Steubenville City Council had their third reading for an ordinance to add three positions to the Steubenville Fire Department.
Chief Carlo Capaldi says this will give them the staffing they need to run their two ambulances 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
He says they have been short-staffed for a while and have had to rely on surrounding departments for help.
We were still sending two to three calls out per day to mutual aid companies to answer EMS calls within the city. This will help take a little bit of pressure off of our mutual aid partners. We should be able to handle a few more calls ourselves during the day. It won’t eliminate mutual aid, but it’ll cut down on the need for it.
Chief Carlo Capaldi , Steubenville Fire Department
He says these three positions will be on the EMS team and if they are not on EMS call, they are also available for fire operations.
Chief Capaldi says the ordinance goes into effect in 30 days and those positions should be filled by the end of July.