By Molly Walsh
cleveland.com
PAINESVILLE, Ohio — Painesville officials are seeking federal funding to hire three firefighter-paramedics, saying the city’s fire department is responding to nearly twice as many calls as it did when staffing levels were reduced nearly two decades ago.
City council voted on Monday to apply for and accept a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to fund additional personnel.
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Fire Chief Thomas Hummel told council the department has been operating with reduced staffing since 2008, when firefighter positions were eliminated through attrition because of financial challenges facing the city. The department has since operated with eight-person shifts.
In that time, emergency calls have “almost doubled,” fire officials said.
Hummel said the workload on firefighters has become increasingly difficult to sustain. The current staffing situation requires substantial overtime, while training, public education efforts and other day-to-day operations have suffered because of shortages, officials said.
Members of the International Association of Fire Fighters recently told city officials the current model is not sustainable and asked when additional help would be added.
The proposed FEMA grant would fund three firefighter-paramedic positions over a three-year period. Hummel said the department has applied for the FEMA funding several times in recent years, including a previous request for six firefighters that was not awarded.
After that previous request was denied, officials moved forward with a new request for three firefighter positions in the current grant cycle.
City officials say the additional staffing would improve emergency response, reduce overtime, enhance firefighter safety and provide more time for training and community outreach programs. The department also expects the added staffing to reduce injury and illness risks among firefighters.
The cost of the three positions is estimated at $345,459 in 2026, $362,773 in 2027 and $380,871 in 2028.
Under the grant program, FEMA would cover 75% of salary and benefit costs during the first two years and 35% during the third year. The city’s share would be about $86,365 in the first year, $90,693 in the second year and $247,566 in the third year.
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