Van Wert firefighter completes probation

VW independent/submitted information

Firefighter Zach Merkle has successfully completed his one-year probationary period with the Van Wert Fire Department.

Merkle is a 2011 Crestview High School graduate, and has taken additional coursework at Rhodes State College and the Department of Defense Fire Academy at Goodfellow Air Force Base in Texas. He is currently a reservist with the U.S. Air Force Reserve, where he holds the rank of senior airman with 434th Civil Engineer Squadron at Grissom AFB and assigned to the Grissom Fire Department.

In 2013, he was selected as “Firefighter of the Year” for all Air Force Reserves. He is also a volunteer firefighter for the village of Wren.

Merkle was hired as a reserve firefighter for the Van Wert Fire Department on January 20, 2014, and then placed in a full-time position on January 2, 2015. During his probationary period he successfully completed 470 hours of inservice training and completed 260 fire and EMS calls. He is certified as a Firefighter 2 and Emergency Medical Technician by the State of Ohio, and is also certified as a hazardous materials technician and rescue technician, and in confined space rescue, high angle rope rescue, and as an airport firefighter by the International Fire Service Accreditation Congress.

Merkle is currently enrolled in the paramedic program at Rhodes State College and is recently married.  He and his wife, Shelby, reside in southwest Van Wert County.

The newest Van Wert city firefighter is the son of Dave and Lisa Merkle of Wren.