By BOB SHRALUKA
WZBD.com
The addition of a new firefighter has somewhat eased the severe personnel situation at the Decatur Fire Department.
Preston Bemis, a resident of Monroe and a firefighter with that community’s volunteer department, has joined the Decatur FD, beginning Sept. 1.
Bemis is a “lateral move,” meaning he could immediately join the Decatur department with full-fledged status since he has already passed all state requirements, been approved for PERF, etc.
“He is working out well,” Fire Chief Jeff Sheets told the city’s board of works and safety on Tuesday.
The Decatur department recently lost three of its nine career firefighters and has been operating severely shorthanded.
The three departures left the department with six regulars, plus Chief Sheets and Deputy Chief Chad Baumann.
Given that loss of personnel, the board of works previously moved to suspend the normal hiring process and gave Sheets the go-ahead to get Bemis on board.
Bemis, who took part in the first fire-rescue class at South Adams High School, is a 2016 graduate of Jay County High School.
He started his fire service career as a cadet with the Bryant volunteer fire department in 2012. He joined Jay County EMS in 2017, then became a part-time firefighter with the Union City, Indiana, fire/EMS department in 2017.
He also was a paid-on-call firefighter with the Portland department, becoming a full-time regular in 2019, then promoted to lieutenant in 2023.
Bemis left Union City in March of this year to work for Adams Memorial Hospital’s EMS and also was brought on by the Monroe fire department.
A resident of Monroe since 2024, Bemis and his wife, Lindsey, are the parents of two children.
STILL HIRING: The Decatur department is still taking applications for career (full-time) firefighters and paid-on-call (POC) firefighters.
Applications packets for both positions are available at the fire station, 206 S.7th St., between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.
A packet also may be downloaded from the City of Decatur website: www.cityofdecatur.in.gov
Completed applications should be taken to City Hall in downtown Decatur, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. They also may be emailed to: applications@cityofdecatur.in.gov
The deadline to apply is 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 19.
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