Florida fire departments to continue efforts to recruit, retain qualified firefighters

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — There is a firefighter shortage across the state of Florida.

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Data shows agencies across the state are trying to fill approximately 1,500 positions.

The shortage of qualified firefighters is also having an effect on those who are close to retiring. Firefighters were once required to retire at a certain age, the state lawmakers changed the law so those who still love the job can stay on longer, in the hopes of combatting the shortage and keeping stations fully staffed.

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On Tuesday in Seminole County, 17 new recruits got their fist taste of battling a building fire. The county had hoped to hire 20.

“When I first applied for the fire department, 300 people applied and there’s nine positions,” Seminole County Fire Department Lt. Dave Williams said. “Now, we’ve kind of swung the other way.”

Williams says Seminole County, along with fire departments across the state, are battling to bring in new qualified firefighters by offering competitive salaries and conditional offers, but the pool of candidates just isn’t there.

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“We’re not seeing people that are technically as skillful with hand tools or doing this kind of work, you know, maybe not just as appealing,” Williams said.

The department is hard at work recruiting at job fairs and making recruitment videos to draw people in who may not have thought about it before.

For new firefighters like Brooke Davis, it’s in her blood.

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“I feel like people will try to get in this job because they want to be like, ‘oh, I’m a firefighter,’ but they don’t understand the hours that you put in,” Davis explained. “It’s very physically demanding.”

Williams, who has been a first-responder for 30 years, says it’s a job that doesn’t get old. Instead of retiring after 25 years, the state extended the deferred retirement option plan, or “DROP,” from five years to eight years to keep veterans on longer.

“I come in just like day one, that it’s exciting as it was day one here at year 30,” Williams said. “We’re trying to bring that out here.”

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