Salem has one of the two-career fire departments in Columbiana County.  The fire station was built in 1997 and is located behind city hall.  Jeff Hughes was appointed fire chief replacing Walt Greenamyer, who retired in January, 2008.  Chief Hughes is an 18-year veteran of the Salem Fire Department, having joined the department in March, 1990, after serving as a Navy Corpsman.  In addition to the Chief, there are three Captains, three lieutenants, three Inspectors, and six Firefighters.  All are considered full-time.  The Chief works a forty-hour week and the rest of the members work twenty-four hours on and forty-eight hours off.  All fire department members are 240-hour trained in firefighting and are first responders.  Other areas of training include: Hazardous materials technicians, confined space rescue, advanced auto extrication, rapid intervention team, and firefighter survival.  Some of the services the department provides are:

• Fighting all fires
• An emergency medical first responder program
• Performing auto extrication
• Confined space stand-bys
• Fire inspections
• Educational program and station tours for the public
• Extinguisher training
• Assist with removing water from basements
• Assist with animal removal
• Carbon Monoxide checks
• Hazardous material call

Chief: Scott Hughes Ext.: 165

Responsibilities: The fire department of each city shall be composed of a chief of the fire department and such other officers, fire fighters, and employees as provided by ordinance, provided, no person shall, after July 1, 1970, be appointed as a permanent full-time paid member, whose duties include fire fighting, of the fire department of any city, unless such person has received a certificate issued by the state board of education under section 3303.07 of the Revised Code evidencing his satisfactory completion of a fire fighter training program. No person who is appointed as a volunteer fire fighter of a city fire department after July 1, 1979, shall remain in such a position, unless within one year of his appointment he has received a certificate issued by the state board of education under section 3303.07 of the Revised Code evidencing his satisfactory completion of a fire fighter training program (ORC 737.08).

The chief of the fire department shall have exclusive control of the stationing and transferring of all firemen and other officers and employees in the department, under such general rules and regulations as the director of public safety prescribes (ORC 737.09).

The fire department shall protect the lives and property of the people in case of fire. Both the police and fire departments shall perform any other duties that are provided by ordinance (ORC 737.11).

Free Smoke Detectors

Members of the Salem Fire Department and Local 283 of the International Association of Fire Fighters are offering to install one free smoke detector in every residence within the City of Salem. Additional detectors may be obtained for a $5 donation per detector. For more information or to sign up for the program, call the Fire Department at 337-3053.

View Fire Trucks

1990 Sutphen (Quint) Aerial Truck 75-Foot Ladder; 1500 GPM Pump; 500 Gallon Tank

1996 Dodge Ram 4-Wheel Drive; 3/4 Ton Used for inspections, snow removal, cleanup at fire scenes.

1984 GMC Rescue Truck Used for accident scenes and grass fires.

Responsibilities: In each city there shall be a department of public safety, which shall be administered by a director of public safety. The director shall be appointed by the mayor . . . (ORC 737.01).

Under the direction of the mayor, the director of public safety shall be the executive head of the police and fire departments . . . . He shall have all powers and duties connected with and incident to the appointment, regulation, and government of such departments except as otherwise provided by law.

Such director shall make all contracts in the name of the city with reference to the management of such departments, for the erection or repair of all buildings or improvements in connection therewith, and for the purchase of all supplies necessary for such departments (ORC 737.02).

When authorized by ordinance of the legislative authority of a city, and in order to expedite the flow and direction of traffic, to eliminate congestion on streets, alleys, and highways, and to provide for the safety of passengers in motor vehicles and pedestrians, the director of public safety may make and issue rules and regulations concerning: (A) The number, type, and location of traffic control devices and signs; (B) The regulation or prohibition of parking on streets, alleys, highways, or public property; (C) The regulation of the right-of-way at intersections of streets, alleys, and highways; (D) The regulation or prohibition of turns at intersections; (E) The creation, abolition, and regulation of through routes and truck routes; (F) The creation, abolition, and regulation of pedestrian crosswalk and safety zones; (G) The creation, abolition, and regulation of bus loading and unloading zones and business loading zones; (H) The creation, abolition, and regulation of traffic lanes, and passing zones; (I) The regulation of the direction of traffic on streets, alleys, and highways and the creation and abolition of one way streets; (J) Such other subjects as may be provided by ordinance, which shall not be limited by the specific enumeration of subjects by this section (ORC 737.022).