The Garrison Fire Department is gearing up for new firefighters. Chief Bruce Breun on Tuesday, Oct. 9 requested that the Garrison City Council allow some changes be made to the hiring practices in an effort to attract more younger area residents to participate in the fire department.
Breun said he is finding it “impossible” to hire young people willing to give up their time without being compensated. “If we are trying to get younger people to join the fire department and they can’t afford to go to classes before they are hired, that’s not right,” Breun said. Breun proposed to allow the fire department to hire new prospective firefighters after passing background checks and references and allow the new hires to be paid $10 per hour for training while they are in a probational period. Training classes, while paid for up front by the fire department, are ultimately covered by reimbursement through grants.