Providence Fire Department to seek volunteers

MEETING THURSDAY NIGHT IN COUNCIL CHAMBER

by Matt Hughes

J-E News Editor

The Providence Fire Department is inviting anyone interested in serving their community to a special event on Thursday, October 10, 2013 at 6:00 p.m.

“This is the first step in finding out about an exciting new career,” said Fire Chief Brad Curry.

Although many people don’t realize it, the Providence Fire Department has always utilized volunteer fire fighters.

“We’ve always been a combination department,” Curry said. “But we need volunteers now more than ever. We need volunteers who can come in and help us in the event of an emergency.”

The full time firemen with the Providence Fire Department also serve as EMTs and Paramedics with the Providence Ambulance service. This setup has always worked fine. Curry’s concern is that this might not always be the case.

“We’ve not had a bad working fire when an ambulance was out of town,” he said, explaining that on average, there is an ambulance out of town for at least seven hours a day. “Sooner or later it will happen, and the results could be very bad. That can be avoided by having a strong volunteer fire department.”

Curry also pointed out that before 1976 it was not unusual for the Providence Fire Department to have only one or two officers on duty.

The first step in building that volunteer fire department is getting the volunteers. Curry is invited anyone who might be interested to attend the meeting.

Candidates who apply on Thursday night will be competing for an undetermined number of spots. According to Curry it’s possible that everyone who qualifies could receive a position, but if there are a lot of applicants, they might have to cut some of the candidates.

The city of Providence will furnish the fire fighter gear for anyone selected, which is a value of about $3,000, and send them to a regional fire fighter school for training.

But that’s not where the opportunities end. Chief Curry said that after the volunteers have served some time with the department, there is a scholarship program that will allow from three to six volunteers to get their EMT training through a six months course. 

“Once they finish EMT school, they are professionally employable by any ambulance service,” said Curry. “And after two years as an EMT, Providence has always made a way for anyone who was interested to get into paramedic school.”

The cost of this school would have to be paid by the EMT, but Curry said the city always assists in anyway possible. In some cases, he said, there are even grants available to cover the expense.

“A lot of time these kind of jobs appeal to young guys,” Curry said. “But it’s not just for guys. Anybody can apply. The only requirement is that you have a clean criminal record.”