PORT ANGELES – Clallam 2 Fire Rescue is reaching out for more volunteers. The agency currently has 36 volunteer firefighters and EMT’s, but they ideally would like double that. Volunteers are used to keep adequate coverage and help the fire district cover costs for the area it serves from Deer Park Road to Lake Crescent.
Volunteer Training Coordinator Anaka Hughes says the number of volunteers has gone down due to people starting as volunteers and then moving to paid careers in the fire service.
“You know, I’m happy to say that one of the reasons that our numbers, that we’re at our 36 volunteers, instead of our 50 or 60 is actually a lot of our volunteers have moved on to career positions, which I see is a win for the fire community,” said Hughes.
Hughes says they’re taking applications for a new round of volunteers, but the deadline is July 22nd. Hughes says after applications, there’s a round of interviews, a background check and physical aptitude test. She says the biggest commitment is time.
“And there’s a couple different steps for time. So, one of the things is that we do training on Tuesday, nights from 1830 to 9:30 and that’s our ongoing training. That keeps everyone’s skills sharp and ready for the community and keeps us progressing down the road. And then there’s actually going on the calls, which is our big thing,” said Hughes.
Hughes says there’s no previous experience required.
“Yeah, walk in the door, come talk to me and we’ll start working on search. While you’re we bring folks on in at what we call recruit status. And so you get on board and you can start going on calls under the supervision of a EMT. And while we work on getting your EMT or some other certifications,” said Hughes.
Volunteers also earn a stipend for every call and can be enrolled in a retirement program as well. Hughes encourages anyone who might be interested to contact her at the headquarters in Port Angeles or head to their website: clallamfire2.org.