Fire department allows firefighters to carry weapons

by Chad D. Baus

The Springfield News Sun reported recently that an area fire department is allowing its personnel to carry concealed guns for personal defense.

From the article:

The Bethel Twp. fire department is the only Ohio department allowing firefighters to carry guns, the president of the state fire chiefs' association believes.

The department's chief said a crisis last week is one reason why.

Five unarmed emergency personnel — on what they thought was a routine medical run in Georgia — were taken hostage by a gunman.

The man was shot dead by SWAT officers, who stormed his house after the 2½-hour standoff Wednesday. The firefighters suffered minor injuries.

"Here's a perfect example of why we took on this stance — to give us the ability to have an exit strategy," Bethel Twp. Fire and EMS Department Chief Jacob King said.

Buckeye Firearms Assoc. can report that while this department may be the first to say so publicly, they are NOT the first to authorize firefighters to carry, as was stated by Ohio Fire Chiefs' Association President Bruce Moritz. Similarly, Montpelier, OH schools made news for being the first to publicly announce that some employees would be given permission to carry in the school even though they were not the first school to allow the practice.

According to the article, potential ambushes, not enough revenue to afford a 24-hour law enforcement contract with the sheriff's office, and wait times for a deputy to respond from other parts of the county led King's department to ask trustees for approval for select personnel to carry concealed weapons.

The trustees unanimously agreed.

"The township had to reduce our sheriff's deputies from two to one based on the police fund, so...we knew that our response times for law enforcement from the sheriff's office was going to be significantly delayed responding to calls in our jurisdiction," King said.

King likened personnel carrying concealed weapons to other tools the department carries but will likely never use.

"For an example, we carry radiation detectors on our rescue truck. That's a tool that we'll probably never use, be we have it available to us in the event that we may have some type of radioactive problem," he said.

I'd like to thank Chief King for the analogy of carry a tool for unexpected situations. Over 325,000 Ohio citizens obtained licenses to carry these tools (firearms) for the exact same reason.

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Vice Chairman.