(Iron Ridge) The Iron Ridge Fire Department is always looking for new staff. Currently, the department is staffed by 30 volunteers that cover a radius of 50 square miles. The volunteers get compensated for responding to calls, completing trainings, and attending meetings. Chief Jason Keller says that nobody enters the fire service career field for the money.
“It’s really for the community,” says Keller. “The financial aspect of it is, you know, more of a side benefit. ‘Hey, we appreciate everything you’ve done, and we wanna make sure you guys are compensated in some way.’”
Keller says that 10 of the 30 members are emergency medical responders (EMRs). He adds that the biggest issue for the department right now is daytime staffing.
“While we are receiving aids from other departments, they are having daytime staffing issues,” Keller says. “The response time for them to get to our community as well, there’s a time for that.”
The fire chief says they are currently working on a solution that includes reaching out to local businesses and asking them if they would consider partnering with the department.
