Oakwood is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States. The population was 9,215 at the 2000 census. Oakwood is part of the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area. It was incorporated in 1908. John Henry Patterson, industrialist and founder of the National Cash Register Corporation, is considered the "Father of Oakwood. " Oakwood is completely land-locked by the surrounding municipalities of Dayton and Kettering. Its small, compact geographic area facilitates the response of its single unified (consolidated) Department of Public Safety, in which all personnel are certified as police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical services (EMS) officers. Oakwood is one of only a few U.S. cities to employ the concept. Public safety officers work 24-hour shifts, performing the different functions within eight-hour blocks of each shift.