School
program
leads
to fire,
EMS jobs

Most kids get excited when a fire truck goes by. For Southview junior Matt Medlin, it’s been an obsession.
“There was always an adrenalin rush when I saw the fire trucks coming,” he told me. “Even when I was in a health career class last year, I’d go to the desk and ask my teacher questions about fire fighters. Everything he said caught my attention.”
Now, Matt’s passion is paying off. As Sylvania students go back to class this week, he joins 23 other students from Sylvania Schools in a new two-year program designed to give them real-world, hands-on training in firefighting, emergency response and public safety operations. When they graduate, they will have Fire 1 and 2 and nationally registered EMT certifications —making them eligible for full-time employment as first-responders at the time of graduation, according to the new program’s teacher, David Langendonk.
The idea for a Sylvania Schools’ Firefighter/Emergency Medical Technician curriculum came in part from Jeff Bennett, assistant chief of the Sylvania Township Fire Department. He saw it as a solution for a dual problem.
First, recruitment of new firefighters and paramedics nationwide is down dramatically since the COVID 19 pandemic of 2020. “I was one of 4,000 people when I tested for a fire fighter job (in Toledo), but now the tests only draw a few hundred,” Bennett said.
“In addition, when I was hired in Sylvania in 2000, it was at the time that our department was expanding with the construction of Station 4 on Sylvania Avenue. Now, the large group of people hired then are approaching retirement. So, the question is, what can we do to ensure a pipeline of future firefighter candidates?”
Second, Bennett explains that Sylvania’s training tower is more than 30 years old and inadequate to offer relevant training and learning for today’s larger residential and commercial buildings. Also, it’s now surrounded by residential neighborhoods that get impacted by night training, drifting smoke and noise.
To address the situation, Bennett secured a one-time $485,000 grant from the State of Ohio to purchase land and build a new tower behind the current Station 4. He took the idea to the school district to discuss partnering opportunities—which included providing student training in a working fire station.
Bennett’s timing coincided with a heightened emphasis on career readiness in the Sylvania Schools.
“At the junior high level, we do a lot with career exploration with the goal of helping students learn what careers are out there and which interest them,” explained Steve Urbanski, until recently the head of Career Technology for the district (he moves to principal at Stranahan elementary this year). He spearheaded the development of the new firefighter/EMT program.
“Sophomores in the Sylvania Schools have the option to apply for one of our 14 vocational tech programs, and our data showed a lot of interest in public safety. But we did not have any programs in that pathway… so the Chief’s proposal fit right in.”
As a result of the collaboration, the class of 24 students begins training this week (that’s the per-class maximum allowed by the state). It’s comprised of 17 males and seven females-selected from more than 50 students who applied. For the time being, classroom training (about 30 percent of the total curriculum) will take place in Northview’s career technology wing, with hands-on instruction at Station 4 and at Penta Career Center.
What is the motivation for most of these Sylvania students?
Aspiring fire fighter Matt Medlin said this is a career path he always wanted to follow, “My father was in humanitarian aid all over the world, so he and my mom were a huge encouragement. Plus, I love to be committed to things like this…it’s very important to me.”
And Chief Bennett further makes the case, “There is a nationwide shortage of firefighters right now, so the sky’s the limit for these students. It’s a very solid career track: a workplace that develops lifelong friendships, and, for me, it’s been very conducive to my family situation and the lifestyle I choose to pursue.
“Plus, since we work 24-hour shifts, we build lifelong friendships…we are family. Most firefighters think this is the greatest job they could ever find.”
Longtime Sylvania resident Mark Luetke has served on city council, the board of education, and numerous foundation and community boards.