Sheffield (OH) Bringing Back Volunteer Fire Department

Jan. 16—SHEFFIELD — The township is bringing back its volunteer fire department

Sheffield’s volunteer fire department dissolved after the township became part of the Northeast Joint Fire District.

Sheffield withdrew from the fire district at a meeting Dec. 31, 2024, making the district effectively non-existent.

The only member of the district at that point was Monroe.

The district was originally comprised of Kingsville, Sheffield and Monroe townships. Kingsville Township withdrew last year.

Sheffield temporarily rejoined the Northeast Fire District at a township meeting Friday, but the district will not operate, Township Trustee Alan Kohta said.

“It’s all just to get everything closed out,” he said. “We are in the district, but [Sheffield and Monroe] are not running calls as a district.”

Kohta said the township’s reentry will allow a final meeting to settle legal and financial business.

“We need to have 90 days just to button up all the loose ends,” he said.

Township trustees appointed Robert Ocasio Jr. as Sheffield’s interim fire chief at a Jan. 6 meeting.

Ocasio said he already has six volunteers for the fire department.

“I’m really going to have to take a hard look at a few of those six, as far as training is concerned,” he said.

Ocasio said he’s spoken with most of the six volunteers.

“Half of them are EMS,” he said. “I feel a little bit better about that.”

Many of the volunteers worked for the fire district, he said.

“Some of them do have a bad taste in their mouth after the whole district thing,” he said. “I’ve spent hours on the phone with most of them.”

There will be a public meeting at 7 p.m. Jan. 25 at the Sheffield Fire Station for all incoming Sheffield volunteers and firefighter association members.

Kohta said it may take a while to get the department trained and working.

“Everybody can realize it’s something that’s not going to happen overnight,” he said.

Sheffield Township Trustee Kirk White said they want to supplement the volunteer fire department with contracted work.

“Because we’re volunteer, we want to team up with somebody — one of our neighbors,” he said.

White said it may take a bit for 24-hour service from Sheffield to be perfected.

“That is something none of us are expecting right out of the gate,” he said.

There are fewer volunteer firefighters than there used to be, White said.

“The economy has a lot to do with this,” he said.

White said many people are tied up with work, so they have less time to volunteer.

The township wants a contract, whether the volunteer fire department succeeds or fails to expand, White said.

Sheffield is considering contracts from either Plymouth and Kingsville townships, he said.

White said trustees haven’t decided when to pick a contract yet.

Sheffield trustees met with Plymouth officials Dec. 26, he said.

Plymouth leaders also attended Sheffield Township’s meeting Jan. 6.

Plymouth fire chief Bill Strubbe said the township had an automatic aid agreement with Sheffield from 1994-2021.

“We currently have a temporary agreement in place,” he said.

Strubbe said he doesn’t feel like there would be any big obstacles to working together.

Sheffield leaders attended a Tuesday Kingsville Township meeting.

Kingsville Township Trustee Michael Cliff said the biggest thing would be managing individual pride and egos.

“As long as they check it at the door, and we know that we’re making decisions for the betterment of the community, not for ourselves, that’s where ultimately we’ll see the success,” he said.

© 2025 the Star Beacon (Ashtabula, Ohio). Visit www.starbeacon.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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