ROSS COUNTY, Ohio — Residents in the Bainbridge area will soon have one fire and EMS department after a merger between the Bainbridge Fire Department and Paxton Township EMS was announced.
Fire Chief Branson P. Leisure released a statement saying, “The Bainbridge Fire Department and Paxton Township EMS, after months of discussion and evaluation, have mutually agreed to merge into one department. This will be done by combining members, apparatus, and equipment to reduce overhead and expand coverage provided to the community in hopes of sustaining local emergency services. This merger provides us with more resources than ever before, resources that can expand our response capacity in ways that have never before been possible.”
Leisure would go on to add, “Fire and EMS services will not be negatively impacted or reduced by the merger of these two great departments. The merger will eliminate the duplication of administrative functions and allow us to better prepare for the future. All current levies will be maintained to fund Fire & EMS services at or above what was previously provided. Residents should expect an increase in services without an increase in taxes.”
The two departments Leisure said have partnered in the past through a “cooperative aid agreement.”
“We are excited to carry on this legacy as the Bainbridge Fire Department,” said Leisure, “as we write the next chapter of providing emergency services to the citizens of the Village of Bainbridge, Paxton, and Perry Townships.”