For the first time in department history, the Horseheads Fire Department has created a paid position. With the increasing number of calls the department is facing everyday, the need for a paid driver has become more pressing.
The Horseheads Fire Department is volunteer based. They responded to 820 calls in 2023, a record breaking year. As of May 7th, there have been 279 calls in 2024. At that pace, the department is set to break another record.
"With the increasing demand calls, the increasing responsibilities of the firefighters, and we don't have as many volunteers coming out to help us anymore, so we need this the paid driver. We've been asking the village for several years now. They afforded us the opportunity to put the paid driver on from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., 10 hours a day," said First Assistant Chief Ryan Wheeler.