ST. JOHNS, Mich. — St. Johns Fire Chief Kevin Douglas is living out his childhood dream today, but he says fewer people are doing the same when it comes to firefighting.
- In line with national trends, St. Johns Fire Department is facing a shortage of paid-on-call firefighters.
- The lack of staffing can cause delays in emergency response times.
- The department is increasing social media recruiting efforts to find new applicants.
WATCH: St. Johns Fire Department faces a paid-on-call firefighter shortage
"I’ve known since I was a little kid that all I wanted to be was a firefighter," Douglas said. "There’s a lack of people willing to join, whether it be paid-on-call fire departments or even full time fire departments across the country."
Departments like St. Johns rely on paid-on-call firefighters to respond to emergencies. Douglas says his department is currently down staff, with just 21 firefighters on the roster.
"We’d like to see that number up around 25," Douglas said.
One name on that roster is Kayla Knaggs. Like many others, she is juggling two jobs. By day, she is a chef. When calls come in, she is a firefighter.
"It can be difficult at times. But I think it’s worth it. At least our department, everybody loves helping people," Knaggs said.
While that strong culture goes a long way, a staffing shortage can make a big difference when calls come in. When asked if this impacts response times, Douglas said it can.
"We may have to wait for members that may not live as close in town before we can have one of our apparatus respond," Douglas said.
The department is ramping up recruiting efforts on social media to help fill the gaps.
"20, 30 years ago - you would have all sorts of people applying to be in fire departments trying to be firefighters. And now we’re lucky if we get applications once a month," Douglas said.
Despite the strain, both Douglas and Knaggs say the work is worth it.
"We’re showing up on people’s worst days. And being able to be that light for them is really valuable to me," Knaggs said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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