Tornado Safety Awareness Begins March 26
The State of Ohio will initiate the official tornado season with a statewide tornado drill and test on Wednesday, March 26 at 9:50 AM. The Oberlin Fire Department will participate in this test by sounding the emergency warning and EAS systems. Following that test, a regular testing will be conducted on the second Wednesday of each month. Are you prepared for a storm? Read about tornado information.

Interested in purchasing an All-Hazard Alert Radio? The Lorain County Office of Emergency Management has arranged for discount pricing for radios as depicted here. To order, print the radio form and send directly to retailer. Antenna is NOT required.

Reverse 911 Emergency Notification System
The City of Oberlin utilizes an Emergency Community Notification system known as Reverse 911. The system is used to provide emergency or urgent information to residents during emergencies. The Fire Department will maintain the system. While all resident information is automatically forwarded to the Fire Department during weekly update, residents may initiate changes to their contact information or add cell phones to the listing by completing an online request  or sending a written R911 Authorization Form to City Hall.  

C.E.R.T. is coming to Oberlin

The Oberlin Fire Department is partnering with the Lorain County Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security's C.E.R.T. program for Oberlin residents. In the event of a disaster, trained citizens can react as teams and provide basic care that will help limit further injury to disaster victims and will lessen the possibility of further damage to property. A CERT training course will be rescheduled for the end of April. See CERT or www.lorainccc.edu/cert

Firefighters Honored at Annual Ceremony
The Oberlin Fire Department celebrated its 154th anniversary dinner by honoring five individuals for their service with the department, and awarding its Firefighter of the Year award.  See Awards.

The Fire Department was presented with its tenth Life Safety Achievement Award from the Residential Fire Safety Institute, recognizing fire prevention activities that contributed to reducing the number of lives lost in residential fires.

Fire Department Receives Fire Prevention Grant Award
The Department of Homeland Security, through its Assistance to Firefighters program, has awarded to the Oberlin Fire Department a 2006 Fire Prevention and Safety grant for $36,338. This grant will be used to purchase an All-Hazards Safety education program for the local schools and safety education training models in the form of Sparky's Hazard House - an interactive safety training simulator, useable for both youth and adult group programs.

Fire Training Trailer Delivered to Oberlin
The new mobile fire training trailer was delivered to the Oberlin Fire Department on Oct 23. The unit was manufactured by Pro-Safe Fire Training Systems of Nobel, Ontario. Funding for this unit was provided through a 2007 Assistance to Firefighters Grant award for $382,755. Read AFG.

Sparky Arrives at Oberlin Fire
It's official. Sparky the Fire Dog has arrived at Oberlin. Sparky is our newest fire prevention tool. He was acquired through FEMA Fire grant funds.

Sparky is a fully animated dalmation dog in a fire truck complete with red lights and siren. He moves, speaks, listens, winks, blinks, and even plays music. Sparky will be used in fire prevention activities including school tours, pre-school visits, fire station visits, parades, and Fire Prevention Week.

OFD Adds State-wide Communication Capability
Oberlin Fire has become the first fire department in Lorain County to implement the new State of Ohio 800-mHz communication system. The Department has received one base station and 11 mobile/portable radios for use in the new Ohio Multi-Agency Radio Communications System (MARCS), expanding our capability to communication with more agencies during an emergency.

Fire Code Permits and Fees
Fees for fire code operational and construction review have been revised, effective March 7, 2006. The fire prevention code now includes the 2006 International Fire Code. View new requirements at Permits.

Illegal Burning Can Be Costly
Did you know that all open fires are prohibited within 1,000 feet of a neighboring residence?  Before you light it, check our local regulations on Open Burning Regulations.

OFD - Storm Sentry at Work
When the fire department is assigned the responsibility of providing disaster services, it takes its job very seriously. Find out how we use Doppler radar to provide early warning at Storm Tracking.

OFD EMS First Responder Service
The next time you call for an ambulance, don’t be surprised to see a firefighter arrive at your house. With the approval of City Council at its December 6 meeting, the Oberlin Fire Department has entered into an agreement with Allen Medical Center to provide first-responder mutual assistance for emergency medical calls within the City of Oberlin... see First Responder

Want to Know How to Become an Oberlin Firefighter?
Click HERE for all of the information you'll need about the job requirements and recruitment of firefighter candidates! 

Last Updated:   Thursday April 10, 2008