Pasco County is growing fast and along with it, the need for more firefighters.
"When we run an application process, we get anywhere between 20 and 60 applicants. So when we’ve got to hire 100 and we only have between 20 and 60 applicants, it’s tight to find qualified people that we want to bring on to this great agency," said Shawn Whited, the division chief of operations at Pasco County Fire Rescue. Whited said it’s getting harder to recruit EMTs and paramedic firefighters, and tapping the pool of experienced workers isn’t always an option.
"We’re getting the guys straight out of fire academy, EMT academy and paramedic academy with no experience," said Whited. "They’ve seen movies and they’ve heard their friends talk about it. But until you’re actually at that fire station and you’re running those calls 24 hours a day, it’s an eye-opener."