Crown Point, Indiana waives experience requirement to hire firefighters
CROWN POINT, Ind. (CBS) – A Northwest Indiana town won a huge federal grant called SAFER, to make residents well, safer. The money will enable the local fire department to hire seven more firefighter/paramedics.
This round of recruitment is getting more hits than usual because the job description says "no experience" is necessary. CBS 2's Lauren Victory had more on the search for new first responders.
The population of Crown Point is growing and the fire department wants to grow with it.
Here's the issue: It takes three years of classes and on-the-job training to be fully certified as a firefighter/paramedic.
Normally, the department has no time for that and hires experienced first responders piecemeal to try to keep up with retirements.
This grant changes the game.
Reaching for the stars is how the Crown Point fire chief hopes to handle hiring.
"They can start on day one and pretty much don't need any additional training," said Chief Mark Baumgardner. "Those are the unicorns. They're hard to find."
Even with action-packed shifts and butt-kicking work, recruitment is just not as easy as it was in the past.
"We used to fill up a school cafeteria full of people wanting to become a firefighter," Baumgardner said. "Now we're lucky to fill up a table or two inside that cafeteria."
Jeremy Golec is one of the brave guys climbing the ladder in Crown Point.
Victory: "What is your favorite part of the job?"
Golec: "Helping the community is a big part."
He's not sure what caused the dip in interest in his line of work, but here's the effect: A recent job posting with a description "no experience or certification" is required.
"We have to kind of open it up and bring in people that are completely green," Baumgardner said.
Don't worry. The first responders won't be responding without training and Crown Point Fire just received the gift of time to get them certified.
A $2.2 million federal grant called SAFER will pay for the salaries and benefits of seven firefighter/paramedics for three years.
Given recent hiring struggles, the chief said it's likely some of the seven recruits will come in with no experience. Expanding the team means more crews on the clock at once, piloting more trucks to respond to an emergency.
"That being staffed can get to a fire quicker and be able to get those important lifesaving tasks done in amore timely manner," Baumgardner said.
The deadline for applying is just after New Year's, but the chief might move that up because more than 100 people already sent in their applications for the seven spots. He thinks the high interest is because of the zero experience required and because Crown Point Fire lowered the minimum hiring age from 21 to 18.