BY JOHN A. DARNELL JR.
      associate editor
      During a 55-second message on social media that was released last week, Boardman Fire Chief Mark Pitzer explains what he identified as a ‘perfect storm’--- “a situation through the years where we had an increase in demand for EMS service and a large reduction in ambulance providers in our area.
      “We used to have a dozen ambulance providers in our area, now we have been reduced to two which has forced not only Boardman Township, but several, other communities around us to get into the EMS business and provide that service through their fire department.”
      Chief Pitzer said a comparative analysis of the 30 largest townships in Ohio (the chief says that Boardman is the 12th largest) shows all but two have entered into the EMS business.
      “These challenges, combined with the aging population we see in Boardman, have all contributed to an increased demand in service on our ambulances,” Chief Pitzer said.
      Boardman Township has placed a 4.5-mil additional tax levy on the November general election ballot. Funds from the levy, if approved, will support ambulance/EMS services out of all three of Boardman Township’s fire stations.
      If approved, the levy will add $158 per every $100,000 of tax valuation to annual property taxes; and raise some $4.53 million (including $2.4 million for salaries) to provide the full-time EMS service.
      The Boardman EMS levy committee says “the lifesaving EMS initiative puts an ambulance and crew in each of Boardman’s three fire stations and can make a big difference in response time.
      “But the cost is low.”
      According to the just completed, 2023 annual report of Chief Pitzer, the Boardman Fire Department responded to 5,317 calls last year, including 747 that were fire-related; 2,180 EMS calls; 1,238 calls to provide EMS assistance, and 171 responses to motor vehicle accidents with reported injuries.
      According to the BFD’s annual report for 2023, response time on EMS calls answered by the fire department average five minutes; and the average response time for calls answered by Lane LifeTrans is about six minutes.
      “Boardman Has Two Options---Do nothing; accept slow or no EMS response. Risk lives.” or “Use the ballot and let residents consider an affordable levy to bring EMS service to safe levels,” the EMS levy committee says.
      A Boardman Township Exploratory EMS Committee that was formed in 2018 said “Our limited EMS resources must cover response to medical emergencies for 42,500 residents during the evening and another 60,000 visitors who come to Boardman every day to work or shop. (100,000 total).”
      12 Largest Townships In Ohio
      Township County Population
      1) West Chester.....Butler...............62,285
      2)Green........Hamilton..................60,424
      3) Colerain.....Hamilton.................59,239
      4) Union........Clermont.................49,639
      5) Anderson........Hamilton..............44,088
      6) Miami...........Clermont..............43,943
      7) Liberty...........Butler..............42,230
      8) Jackson..........Stark................42,817
      9) Deerfield........Warren.............40,525
      10) Boardman.....Mahoning................40,213
      11) Washington......Montgomery...........37,444
      12) Austintown......Mahoning.............36,049
      SOURCE: 2020 Census Data/Ohio Township Association