NORTHWOOD, Ohio — For over 70 years, the Northwood Fire Department has been serving the community, one phone call at a time.
However, the city has never had full-time firefighters, until Monday night.
"It's really going to be beneficial to us because we're going to be able to dedicate that at least one person will be around, but minimum staffing is now going to be up to three people now," said Northwood Fire Chief Joel Whitmore.
Six new firefighters in total were sworn in Monday night at Station 83: three full-time firefighters and three volunteer recruits.
William Hadder, Amanda Hughes and Noah Cornelison are the full-time firefighters, all becoming the constant in a staff of over 40 and providing extra hands at all times.
Before Monday's pinning ceremony, Whitmore says the department only had a minimum of two staff members on hand during all shifts.
"It was really hard to fill those shifts," he said. "We would have gaps in coverage and it was just a struggle to maintain that staffing, so by allowing us to get that extra person here, it just ensures that we have a person available."
Despite having only two staff members on hand, the phones in Northwood never stop ringing. As of May, the department's website says it has responded to 556 calls.
The department does not just serve Northwood, though. It also provides mutual aid to the cities of Oregon, Perrysburg and Toledo, as well as the Toledo Refinery Company.
"Everybody has that need, and just nobody wants to do it anymore," Whitmore said. "It's tough work."
But now, an extra call for help can be answered at any time.
"It's a really cool feeling, but it's even better for the department," Cornelison said. "It's a bigger accomplished goal for the city, we couldn't be happier for the city in general, the city is really going to be the ones that benefit from the full-time department members now."
It also brings joy to new volunteer firefighters, like 19-year-old Northwood native Adam Schroeder, who was also sworn in on Monday and said was awesome to be a part of a big day for his hometown.
"Knowing how small Northwood was, and still is, it's truly great that we can finally have full-time firefighters serving their community," he said.
Now officially a full-time first responder, Cornelison says the process to get this moment, and the job he now has, is more than just a paycheck.
"Found something that I finally enjoy and I like, and I have a lot of people around me that care about the community and I like caring about the community as well and helping the people who need help themselves, so it's awfully rewarding," he said. "The money really doesn't matter when you're helping people at the end of the day."
Whitmore said that the department also received a $939,819 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency given to fire departments nationwide to help hire more staff.
Whitmore says the plan is to use the money to hire three more full-time firefighters and provide payment for three years.