SHEPHERDSVILLE, Ky. — Worker shortages have been affecting many industries across the country recently. Some who are also feeling the effects are first responders.
Officials from fire departments across Kentuckiana said it's been hard to close the gaps they desperately need filled.
When it comes to hiring new recruits, multiple fire chiefs said that with all of the qualifications that are actually needed, sometimes it feels impossible to bring on a new group of firefighters.
"Our problem here is that we are a smaller department. We compete with much larger departments on trying to get personnel in," said Jon Layne Troutman, Fire Chief for the Shepherdsville Fire Department.
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That's the problem that officials with both career and volunteer fire departments said they're facing. With a shortage of workers across many industries, they said it's hard to get people into the roles they need filled.
"We have had to up our numbers, 36 is our cap now. And we struggled to try to maintain that number. Right now we're actually only at 30," said James Richey, the fire chief for the Scottsburg Fire Department in southern Indiana.
With their program being volunteer-based, he said there can be a lack of incentives for people to join and stay committed.
"It's a huge commitment for someone that's a volunteer to come in and have to do two four-hour classes a night for three months for a volunteer program," said Chief Richey.
But what about the career-based departments?
Troutman said the Shepherdsville department is not only are short in hires but their full-time staff is limited as well.
"With the five we are short from hiring, and the three that are off injured, that puts us at eight people down so it puts us almost an entire engine company down every shift," said Chief Troutman.
The qualifications to become a firefighter are not easy - the process can include hours of training, plus other certifications and tests. Right now, Chief Troutman said his department is working to figure out how to make the job more accessible.
"The next time we hire, we are looking at hiring someone straight off the street, putting them through an EMT class, and putting them through a fire fighting class," said Chief Troutman.
Both chiefs said this job is one they wouldn't trade for the world and are even getting creative when it comes to sparking that interest in others.
"During the summer, we actually do a firefighter camp where we can bring in school-aged children, and kind of just let them see what it is to be a firefighter to maybe strike that interest, get that flame of, you know, that passion," said Chief Richey.
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