Thursday, Jan. 11, 2007 | I have been recently hearing Fire Chief Tracy Jarman lament that there were so few applicants this year for Fire Recruits and that it must be that “salaries are low.” A starting salary in the $30,000 range certainly seems respectable. It shouldn’t take a rocket scientist to look at the application and see why. The Fire Recruit position (the entry level position) requires an EMT-1 certificate.
An EMT-1 is the second level of certification, requiring a EMT-Basic and additional studies and tests.
A search of similar cities (i.e.: Los Angeles) shows that that the certification is obtained while working as a recruit, not a prerequisite for the job. Eliminating this as a prerequisite might get a higher number of applicants. Maybe we should try working smarter rather than blaming the low salaries for our problems