Dalton voting on withdrawal from E. Wayne Fire District

If things go as planned — after already having one hiccup — Dalton may be on the way to having its own fire department.

A village council vote to withdraw from the East Wayne Fire District was to have been held Dec. 19 but was sidelined by an attorney coming down with COVID-19. The vote was moved to a special council meeting on Dec. 22, at which time four resolutions would be considered.

Under each resolution Dalton would withdraw from the EWFD, though some different conditions would exist, depending on the resolution. Those conditions include maintaining fire and EMS services until an agreed-upon date and ultimately establishing a fire department in the village of Dalton.

The district, formed in 2014 and once comprised of four entities, was cut down to three in 2016 when Sugarcreek Township left and then to two in 2019 when Baughman Township pulled out.

“When we went from four to three, we had struggles, and when we went from three to two, we had struggles,” Dalton Mayor Dennis Finley said. “It brought us to the point where the struggles will be almost insurmountable. When you have two different communities separated by 9 miles, it’s very hard for a fire chief to please everybody. Each community wants their station manned.”

Right now the district consists of just Dalton and Marshallville. Logistical problems can mount, as Finley alluded to, with the district being so spread out.

“If we were contiguous or actually had one township, it would be one thing, but we’re not,” Finley said. “What started off as a good idea with four, now that we’re down to two, we’re kind of struggling a little bit.”

Finley said that once a fire department is put together, assuming the resolutions passed, the village will need to hire a chief, who will be responsible for just Dalton. That will come at a price, like any improvement.

“Right now we cannot fund a fire department,” the mayor said. “We’re going to have to put some kind of levy on to run it. Realistically, by the time you pay their salaries, benefits and for all the equipment, you’re looking at $100,000 per employee per year. So when you get ready to budget, you have to keep that in mind.”

Finley said he wasn’t sure how many new department employees would be required to staff it, but having a new, Dalton-only fire department would represent a significant safety upgrade.

“I’ve been working with the state’s fire marshal’s office,” he said. “You need equipment and you need personal. The fire end is pretty easy to put together, but we would still need to work with EMS services.”

There would be all sorts of licensing requirements such as dealing with medications and things of that nature in the EMS area.

“We’re kind of in the process of learning all that,” Finley said.