King County Fire District 27 of Fall City filled four empty firefighter positions with volunteers.
The volunteers were hired as paid firefighters on Jan. 15. Three of the new firefighters already had experience at King County Fire District 27.
The new members are Dylan Lindberg, Parker Dumas, Noah Fleming and Parker McKinnon. McKinnon has experience with the fire department in Duvall.
Two former volunteers are in the process of attending the fire training academy. Fire training academies require trainees to undergo some 600 hours of training in addition to performing written and physical tests.
According to Chief Chris Connor, it can take about three years on average for a volunteer to get hired.
Because becoming a firefighter is competitive, many individuals enter the field with first response training under their belt in order to give them a leg up.
In regards to Fire District 27’s new hires, Chief Connor said, “They’re pretty young, but they just have a lot more energy than I do — it’s so refreshing.”