PERRYSBURG, Ohio — The Rossford Fire Department appears to be no closer tonight to having a solution for its coverage or staffing issues.
Discussions are in the early stages of a potential merger between the Rossford and Perrysburg Township fire departments, but a meeting between both groups on Wednesday at a township fire station took one step closer to that decision.
"There's a lot at stake here so I don't think either side wants to jump into this without knowing all of the answers, and first, making sure you know all of the questions and then having answers for all of those questions," said Tom Brice, Perrysburg Township fire chief.
Rossford had three city-proposed options on the table to solve its staffing shortage and the one that stood out was merging with Perrysburg Township.
Brice said the goal of Wednesday's meeting was to inform the community of its contracted services proposal.
"Hopefully we will, in the near future, have a meeting set up with (Rossford) and (Perrysburg Township) and start getting together to start talking about the issues that are on the table," he said.
Those issues include engine and hiring costs, medics and staff vehicles.
The process is still at the beginning stages and will take some time before anything is agreed upon.
What's important is ensuring that Perrysburg Township is hindered by a possible merger, Brice said.
"Making sure we answer all of the questions that we have and making sure Perrysburg Township is at very minimum made whole and taking on services in Rossford isn't going to cost Perrysburg Township anything," he said.