Following a series of stories in The Press about a 67-year-old Northwood man who stopped breathing waiting 28 minutes for a rescue squad to arrive at his home on March 3, the public posted various comments about the stories on the newspaper’s website at www.presspublications.com

Ellen Mix, of Parc Rue, called 9-1-1 three times on the morning of March 3 to seek help for her husband, Tim, who was having problems breathing. By the time the Northwood rescue squad arrived 28 minutes later, Tim had stopped breathing. He was briefly revived, but died two days later at Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center after suffering brain damage due to a lack of oxygen, said Ellen.

Eighteen comments last month appeared under The Press’s first story, “Man stops breathing waiting for rescue squad,” on its website. Some of the posts slammed Mayor Mark Stoner and city council for making budget cuts, pay cuts, and implementing a hiring freeze in the fire department last year that may have contributed to the incident:

“So let me get this straight, a city that is cutting budgets and services, along with pay to its personnel, had something bad happen,” posted “James” on May 13. “Huh, seems like it was just a matter of time to me. Although the event is very unfortunate, some folks don’t open their eyes until they run into the wall. Condolences to the Mix family.”

Others defended former Fire Chief Tim Romstadt, a paramedic who was unavailable to respond to the Mix call because he was completing a 12-hour shift in the Springfield Township Fire Department, where he worked three days a week. Romstadt’s shift in Springfield started at 7 p.m. on March 2 and ended at 7 a.m. on March 3, 11 minutes after Mix made the first 9-1-1 call to the Northwood Fire Department. Romstadt, who is now Northwood’s part-time deputy fire chief, was making $66,000 annually as Northwood’s full-time chief before he resigned in April. Stoner said he had told Romstadt when he had hired him as full-time chief that he could not have a second job and that he was expected to be on call 24/7. Romstadt said Stoner only told him that he would have to quit his full-time job with Springfield and that he never said anything about having to quit a part-time job:

“…When is it illegal for somebody to have two jobs?” posts “Luda” on May 13. “You people would be complaining if, after his hours got cut, he was standing in line trying to obtain unemployment for his hours being cut. Instead, Mr. Romstadt picked up hours to provide for his family. Having been a Northwood resident for years I see this as nothing more than an unfortunate circumstance.”

Posters like “Todd” on May 16 said Northwood residents share some of the blame for refusing to pass an increase in the income tax that was on the ballot last year:

“…We have a volunteer fire department. There is no guarantee that anyone will show up at any given time to respond to an emergency. Northwood residents are a little spoiled by the services they receive from the police, fire and streets departments in relation to the low income tax rate they pay. On two occasions, Northwood voters have voted down tax increases that would have benefited these services yet still expect the amount of service they are used to. The circumstances of the Mix event were very tragic, but could still happen any day. The part-time firefighters were brought back after council and the mayor cut them so that will provide at least two people to respond from 7-5 Monday-Friday, as long as they are not on another run when a second call comes in. But this will not help anything outside those times, like the incident at the Mix residence…The only way to have 24/7 coverage is to have a full-time fire department. The residents don’t want to pay for it and the city can’t afford it. Also, the police are trained in CPR. Where were they?”

And “nwoodresident” posted on May 16 that it “is a sad situation,” that Northwood cannot guarantee a timely response to 9-1-1.

“This is a sad situation. I am reading people’s comments about the mayor and the fire chief. I understand about the volunteer fire positions, too, but the fire chief position is not a volunteer position. It is a full-time salaried position. I think the city does cuts to the emergency personnel to get people to vote for the tax increase. I voted for the increase because .25 percent or even a half percent is not much. The city needs to manage their money better. But some of these comments are telling me that since I live in Northwood, 9-1-1 does not mean anything because we as residents are not guaranteed to get help. That doesn’t make sense to me at all. I know people that are volunteer firemen in other cities, and have never heard that someone is not guaranteed to come help. This is sad.”

The public also posted comments under the article, “Cuts restored, city makes changes following death.”

In a post on May 13 by “nwoodranger” Stoner is criticized for rehiring Romstadt as part-time deputy fire chief after he had resigned as full-time fire chief following the Mix incident.

“So the full-time fire chief wasn’t doing his job….so let’s cut it to part-time? The mayor and council didn’t support the small raising of the income tax, that would have brought in much needed money to allow the city (including the fire department) to keep providing the services it was already doing???? Sounds like a big case of poor management. Fire chief wasn’t doing what was expected of him, replace him! Quit making cuts on essential services that help protect us (police, fire, streets)! It just doesn’t make sense.”

A post by “Northwood” on May 13 also questions rehiring Romstadt.

“So let me get this straight, we had a full-time fire chief who wasn’t doing his job, then he resigns and we make him deputy chief…Does anyone else see anything wrong here?”

And a post by “nwoodresident” on May 15 states that several officials should be fired.

“…I feel that everyone involved should have repercussions. Mayor Stoner told Romstadt he had to quit his Springfield Township job if he wanted to become fire chief. Stoner also knew earlier this year that Romstadt was still working in Springfield Township and told him to quit that job. Stoner should have followed up on that. Stoner, you’re fired.

“[Administrator] Dennis Recker knew that Romstadt was working two full-time jobs late last year, and told him that he should quit his job in Springfield Township and that he should really think about it. There should have been no `thinking about it.’ He should have said, `quit or you’re done.’ Recker knew this would affect his job as fire chief of the city he is paid to protect. Recker, you’re fired. Romstadt decided to resign for “family issues” so he could spend more time with his family. (In my opinion, he knows he was wrong). If he would NOT have been working two full-time jobs and two part-time jobs, he would have had more time to spend with his family. Tim, working 36 hours a week is considered full-time, not part-time. Romstadt, you’re fired.

“…Stoner is also blaming Northwood residents because of a tax increase that was turned down last year. In my opinion, at no time should there ever be a city without emergency personnel for any reason whatsoever. I understand there had to be cuts, but there should never be a two hour window with no emergency coverage. For the fire chief to say this incident was beyond anyone’s control is ridiculous. This situation is never beyond anyone’s control. There are people at fault. And you all need to apologize to the Mix family. Admit that you all made a mistake. I have lived in Northwood for many, many years, and I feel that this mistake makes our city look hopeless.”

And the June 9 article, “Northwood will now advertise for a full-time chief,” that appeared on The Press’s website, “johnd” questioned concerns that the city cannot afford a full-time chief.

“…a previous article in The Press stated that the city had an increase in revenue of 28 percent at the end of April. They also said it was close to the amount of monies they had in 2008. How are they crying money problems when they are four police officers short, one court clerk short, a mayor/administrator secretary short, and [short of] Street Department employees? The city has cut so much out of the budget from previous years that they are unable to cut anymore without jeopardizing the safety of the public. Look at what happened in March due to the city cutting the budget…I just do not understand where all the monies are going with a shortfall in employees and an increase in revenue. The mayor and administrator are making poor decisions for the city and it seems only a few council members truly understand what the city needs. I hope the city is able to get on the right track. Until then, why would new business and residents want to move to a city that does not have a properly run infrastructure.”

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