Good Morning…Our public safety workers, Rittman Fire and EMS, are ready to respond to any emergency including patients experiencing flu like symptoms.

If the Rittman Fire/EMS dispatch center is contacted for treatment and transport of a patient who is exhibiting any flu like symptoms, the 911 operator will ask for detailed information about the symptoms the patient is exhibiting. Also, please advise dispatch if the patient has recently traveled outside of the United States or has been involved in a large group activity that may have included someone who may have been exposed to Covid-19. Information like this is vital to the proper treatment of the patient and the protection of our team.

Additionally, upon arrival of our EMS team, please repeat that same information. We are sure everyone will understand how important it is for us to keep our response team healthy. We will take all necessary precautions, however, the more information we have about the patient, the better.

In addition, if the patient does exhibit any of the above symptoms, our crews will be taking all necessary precautions to protect themselves. They may be wearing face masks, gowns, safety glasses or even full respirators. Do not be surprised if they require the patient to wear a face mask as well. If you are exhibiting these symptoms and have a face mask please put it on before our team arrives.

Regarding our station, we staff the station with a minimum of 2 team members, often 4, from 6a-6p. The 6p-6a shift is often covered by 4 “on call from home” team members. We will not be offering tours of our station NOR will we allow unnecessary visitors into the station. This is as much for their protection as it is ours.

We have moved our administration offices from the fire station building, 33 E. Ohio Ave. to the old “EMS” building at 25 N. State St. If you have NON-EMERGENCY business with someone on the FD/EMS team you can stop there or call 330-925-8040 option 8.

At this time, the Firefighters Association is evaluating the Pancake Breakfast set for April 4. They will decide next week if it will be postponed to another date.

This is an unprecedented time and we appreciate your understanding and patience as we protect our team and our citizens.