Jan. 20—With an additional fire station coming online in mid-2024 and continued growth in the city, the Sanford Fire Department is recruiting firefighters to serve the community.
Fire Chief Matt Arnold said the SFD is looking to hire at least 21 firefighters. They're also working to build a pool of applicants. On Thursday, a Facebook live event answered questions about firefighting and the Sanford Fire Department.
The SFD is holding an open house Thursday at 6:30 p.m. in the Central Fire Station, 512 Hawkins Ave., for those interested in joining their ranks.
"Throughout the course of this calendar year, we're looking to hire at least 21 more (firefighters)," Arnold said. "This will be in staged groups. The plan is to get 21 by the end of the year. It's a very competitive market. Lots of fire departments around us are all trying to hire and recruiting to the same pool of people. We have to do some things to set ourselves apart."
Arnold said the department is "casting a much wider net this time."
"We're advertising for certified and uncertified people," he said. "We're using form here that we haven't used in the past. We're physically going out into the community and meeting community leaders and posting our advertisement around town. Something we're really working to do is to recruit to a more diverse audience so that we can make our population more closely match the population of this area. We want to hire the best candidates, but we want to make sure we get our opportunity in front of as many people as we can to get the best candidate pool."
Arnold said the Facebook live event included a firefighter, a captain and Training Battalion Chief Ronnie Page to answer questions.
"Next Thursday, we're going to have on open house here," Arnold said. "We've invited people in and we're trying to get the word out. We're going to have extra stuff on hand so people can come in and learn about us and get to talk to the firefighters and ask questions."
Arnold said that one of the challenges they face is that most firefighters come to the fire department because they are familiar with it.
"They've got a friend, a family member, a history ...," he said. "What we don't see are people with no connection who just walk in blind. It's uncomfortable if you don't know anybody or you're not familiar, so we're trying to get some familiarity out there and get people to come in an talk to us so that they're a little more comfortable and in a familiar environment. We want to make it more welcoming."
Arnold said that training is an important part of becoming a firefighter and that every department does it.
"The people that we're trying to bring in are the ones that want to embrace growth," he said. "Because we're going to grow, there are going to be a lot of new opportunities here that we have not had in the past — for our firefighters and our new people. Things like opening new stations, looking to add new stations in the future, buying new fire trucks. We're looking to bring in outside perspectives to see what we can do differently to do better. The city has been really supportive since I've been here in making our pay and benefits very competitive."
Arnold said some people don't think about some of the benefits offered by working at the Sanford Fire Department.
"Things like retiree health care, a pension system and a 401K, longevity pay — not everybody has those," he said. "If you're a younger person out there, you may not think about retiree healthcare. When you get to be my age, knowing that that is out there for you when you retire is a big thing."
Arnold said the big push to hire the new staff was because the department expects to open the new station on Colon Road during the summer.
"It's under construction right now and it's moving along," he said. "We can't take our current staff and thin it enough to staff a new firehouse. We need to get some new people in here and have them trained so that by the time the new station opens, we have the crews needed."
Arnold said that basic training for new firefighters takes 14-15 weeks. Arnold said having Page on staff to work on training has been invaluable and that SFD can bring in outside instructors and take advantage of the training facility at Central Carolina Community College .
"They've (CCCC) been really supportive of our staff and getting out there to train when we need that hands-on," he said. "We can do classroom training here, but their facility is a benefit to us."
Arnold said that staffing increases will be needed as the city grows, and there are standards for ratios of firefighters, but there are other factors, too.
"Really, what we look a lot more at is time," Arnold said. "As the traffic increases, how long does it take to where the call is. As the distance grows as we grow and the distance from our stations gets bigger, then we need to look at how far away we are and how long it is going to take to get there."
Arnold said there were several reasons for the new station on Colon Road, noting its proximity to the new Galvin's Ridge development, the Central Carolina Enterprise Park and U.S. 1.
"We're always looking at those numbers — looking at the data," he said. "It's always a challenge, because adding people and stations is not an inexpensive proposition. We really need to do our due diligence so that we put things in the right places at the right times."
Arnold said those with questions can call 919-775-8313 or email sanfordfire@sanfordnc.net or stop by any of the fire stations and ask questions. The application period closes at 5 p.m. on Feb. 9.
"There's still plenty of time to ask questions," Arnold sad. "I always tell people, 'Don't limit yourself by not applying.' If you think you might be interested, go through the process. Don't let the limitation be you for not putting in an application."
