Three new firefighters were sworn in for Liberty Township on Monday night. 

Trevor Willoughby, John Greene and Matthew Kello all took their oaths and received their badges.

The department now has fourteen full-timers. The Belmont station had to close several times in the past year because of a staffing shortage. The chief said they need four firefighters on duty at all times to keep both of their stations open. Now, he now expects the closures to happen less. 

“It helps us keep it open. When we fall below four then we have to close that station because we do not have enough firefighters on duty to keep two ambulances but during the daytime we’re able normally to keep two ambulances in service,” Chief Douglas Theobald of the Liberty Township Fire Department said. 

All three of the new firefighters will also be paramedic trained in the near future.