As St. George grows, city officials say they recognize the need to hire additional firefighters and construct new fire stations.
City Manager Adam Lenhard said there are major changes planned for the St. George Fire Department.
“St. George is kind of unique,” he said. “For a city of our size, we have relied heavily on volunteer firefighters, and you don’t see that much anymore.”
The decades-old volunteer firefighter program, which will remain in place for the time being, will be augmented by paid staff in the future. “We will continue to incorporate our volunteers into our firefighting efforts as long as we can but recognize the need to transfer to a full-time, professional firefighting staff,” Lenhard said.
During the past two fiscal years, the city has hired 12 full-time firefighters, and this is just the start, Lenhard added.