By Mitch Hotts
Voice News
CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Clinton Township Supervisor Paul Gieleghem says a recent agreement with the firefighters’ union, which relaxes some of its hiring criteria is expected to save the community hundreds of thousands of dollars a year while still providing paramedics for emergency medical care.
The Clinton Township Fire Department recently reached an agreement with the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 1381, which represents the community’s full-time firefighters and paramedics, concerning the training requirements for emergency medical care.
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Under the memorandum of understanding (MOU) with IAFF Local 1381, the department is now allowed to hire emergency medical technicians (EMTs). Previously, the labor agreement did not allow the township to hire EMTs.
Michigan is facing a shortage of paramedics and EMTs that began at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic despite the state investing millions of dollars in grants to train workers. . Industry experts say there are more than 500 vacancies for paramedics and EMTs in emergency medical service agencies.
Under a past contract, Clinton Township firefighter applicants were required to have completed the fire academy and be certified as paramedics, which is a step above EMTs.
“The problem that we all were working to solve is that we couldn’t find enough applicants who had completed training as both a firefighter and a paramedic,” Gieleghem said Thursday, Oct. 29 . “This meant that we were routinely under-staffed and incurring nearly a million dollars in overtime costs and the related increases in legacy costs.”
Gieleghem’s explanation followed an earlier Macomb Daily report, which incorrectly stated the department’s previous requirements called for potential firefighters to be licensed by Michigan as an EMT or a paramedic, as well as having obtained Firefighter I and Firefighter II certificates.
The change through the MOU places Clinton Township on par with many of its surrounding fire departments and allows the township to have enough manpower to fully staff its five fire stations, Gieleghem explained.
“There will be enough paramedics on staff to ensure that we can meet the high Advanced Life Support standards that our department has always delivered and our public has voted for but meet that standard in a more cost-effective way,” he said.
After one year of working as a probationary firefighter, they will have the opportunity to move forward with paramedic training, according to township Fire Chief John Gallagher.
Along with the township’s transport contract with Medstar Ambulance, Clinton Township will always have a paramedic on scene when needed, according to township officials.
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