By Destiniee Jaram
cleveland.com
STOW, Ohio — Anticipated firefighter retirements and a shortage of paramedic-certified applicants are prompting Stow officials to consider expanding the city’s firefighter hiring pool with another entrance exam, according to a discussion at a recent Civil Service Commission meeting.
During a May 5 meeting, Fire Chief Mark Stone said the department has already hired five firefighters from its current eligibility list but wants to combine another entrance exam with the existing list to create a larger hiring pool.
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Officials cited an unexpected retirement notice from one firefighter who recently became eligible for retirement and accepted a chief officer position elsewhere.
Stone said the department has been made aware that two or three other candidates could also retire this year.
“Which will really deplete our resources of this list,” Stone told the commission.
The discussion also underscored the growing importance of paramedic certification in firefighter hiring.
“What we do see in our industry is these people do get snatched up quite readily and go to other agencies,” Stone said.
Officials said many candidates remaining in the city’s top-ranked “Band A” eligibility group are not certified paramedics, making them ineligible for employment under the department’s hiring standards despite remaining in good standing on the list.
“We have interviewed all of them and we just feel that it would be good for us to get another list and make it more robust,” the official said.
Commission members asked whether candidates could later become eligible after completing paramedic training.
Stone said some applicants have recently become paramedics, making them eligible. Others, he said, who are currently serving as student riders or attending paramedic school could qualify within the next several months.
“But they are few and far in between,” he said.
A total of 32 candidates remain in Band A of the current hiring list, though only a portion currently meet the department’s paramedic requirements.
Statewide figures suggest the challenge is not unique to Stow. According to April 2026 data from the Ohio Department of Public Safety’s Division of Emergency Medical Services, Ohio had 26,661 active Firefighter II certifications and 20,144 active paramedic certifications. Of those, the report showed fewer than 15,000 individuals held both Firefighter II and paramedic certifications.
The commission discussed how the city would merge a new entrance exam with the current eligibility list. Officials said candidates in lower-ranked bands could retake the National Testing Network exam to improve their standing, while new applicants would be incorporated into the revised list. As exams are held yearly, the tactic could allow for candidates to increase their test scores or band category.
The Civil Service Commission ultimately unanimously approved a new firefighter entrance examination.
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