Technology is great when it works, but for the Perrysburg Township police and fire departments, computer problems are proving to be a huge headache.

At the September 7 trustees meeting, Fire Chief Tom Brice said issues with information technology have been causing the systems in both departments to crash and is extremely frustrating, particularly for dispatchers.

“This is continuing to be a big problem with staff putting in a lot of time on it. This is getting incredibly frustrating,” he said. “We don’t know what to do. It is crashing on a daily basis,” he added.

Police Chief Mark Hetrick said PerryproTech was out for two or three hours recently and the system crashed after they left.

Chief Brice learned that the new computers “lack sufficient memory.”

Administrator Walt Celley said company officials apologized for selling computers with low memory capacity and have been working to repair the problems, but are still in need of switches. “I feel they are sincerely doing their best,” he added.

Chief Brice said that “with all due respect, I disagree. We are not getting the service we deserve.” He understands the switches are old and need replaced, but believes the process is taking too long.

“We are all frustrated. Something needs to change.”

Department Stats

The chief provided the July and August fire/EMS department statistics. Last month, the department responded to 161 calls, 134 EMS and 27 fire. They received mutual/auto aid twice and provided it on 17 occasions, most frequently with Perrysburg, eight, and Rossford, five.

Of the calls received, 86 were for residences, followed by businesses, 27; roadways and nursing homes, 13 apiece; schools, three, and Maumee River, medical office and the Lime City Road station, one each.

For those requiring transport to area hospitals, 29 went to Mercy of Perrysburg, followed by St. Luke’s, 20; St. Vincent’s, 14; Bay Park, six; St. Charles, five, and Toledo, three.

In July, the department responded to 165 calls, received mutual aid twice and provided it 19 times. The majority of calls were to residences, 78 and nursing homes, 28, and the highest volume of transport to hospitals was St. Luke’s 32 and Mercy of Perrysburg, 23.

Other Business

In other fire department business, the trustees:

•Agreed to send firefighter Brian Perkins to paramedic school through Four County Career Center. The 18month class will be held at Arrowhead Park in Maumee at a cost of $11,000.

Chief Brice said the full-time firefighter agrees to remain with the township for six years, or if he leaves early, to reimburse the township for the cost.

•Approved the purchase of 16 automated external defibrillators, eight each for fire and police departments at a cost of $32,129. The devices will be purchased from Stryker Medical with the cost shared between the two departments, Chief Brice explained.

•Agreed to send five firefighters to Port Jarvis, New York, on September 20 to see a demonstration of a jet-powered River Rafter to replace the current boat which is 20 years old.

“The boat has leaking tubes and is not functional in shallow areas,” the fire chief said, adding the department also is looking at an air boat that Napoleon’s fire department uses. The airboat could be multifunctional and usable on water and ice, but requires additional training, he noted.

The trustees next meeting will be at 4:15 p.m., Wednesday, October 5, at the township meeting hall, 26609 Lime City Road, and is open to the public.