The Western Springs Fire Department wants to hire more firefighters. And its recruiting is not limited to 20-somethings who always wanted to be firefighters.
The village fire department is a paid-on-call model, in which it hires and trains residents to be part-time firefighters while they hold other jobs.
The fire department has been able to operate that way for more than 125 years because of community members stepping up and serving, said Deputy Fire Chief Brian Scott.
Their motto is, “Neighbors protecting neighbors.”
“We have accountants, we have lawyers,” firefighter Matt Swartz said.
Other part-time firefighters work as contractors, as stock brokers and in the heating and air-conditioning business.
“It runs the gambit,” Scott said.
Patrick Hynes is a real estate appraiser who was trained as a firefighter about nine years ago.
“It’s like having a second family,” Hynes says in a video on the village website. “You have a real bond with other members you work with.”
The village has three firefighters on duty at all times. Two of them are firefighter-paramedics working under a contract.
The third is a part-time firefighter trained in the village, who volunteers for the shifts he or she works.
The list of requirements is short: Be 18 or older, “energetic, committed and physically fit,” and live in Western Springs or within a mile of the village borders.
“We would love to get 20 candidates,” Swartz said. “It will give us a great buffer for years to come.”
Residents who are interested should apply by the end of September. An online application is available at wsprings.com/fdrecruitment.
Orientation is Oct. 7. Interviews, a background check and a physical will follow. If hired, the candidates would start training Jan. 11 at the Western Springs Fire Station.
To accommodate candidates who have other daytime jobs, the firefighter training is scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday evenings through June. In addition, on certain Saturdays, there will be hands-on skills training with fire equipment. The Western Springs training meets all the state fire marshal standards, Scott said.
Those who graduate start as a firefighter with basic first responder medical training. They can choose to take advanced training in emergency medical services or specialized rescue, such as responding to collapsed buildings or hazardous material spills, Scott said.
“It’s a challenge to learn all the different aspects of the fire service from the medical side to the fire suppression side,” Hynes said. But it’s rewarding and . . . a lot of fun. You are going to learn quite a bit, including some skills that are useful in everyday life.”
Clarendon Hills and La Grange Park, too, staff their fire departments with a combination of part-time firefighter/paramedics who also work for other fire departments and local paid-on call firefighters.
But it has been getting harder to find people willing to do it, fire officials said.
Scott believes that’s because people lead busy lives. Often both the husband and wife work full-time and children have busy schedules of after-school activities. But there are those who balance their work and personal life to make time to help other residents.
It’s a meaningful, team-oriented vocation, Scott said.
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It also saves the village and its taxpayers money. The village does not pay pension and other benefits to paid-on-call firefighters.
The paid-on-call firefighters are paid an hourly wage, between $15 and $30 based on their years and level of experience. They are paid while they are in training, and for ongoing training, which is 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays.
Once fully trained, they can sign up in advance for shifts at the fire station and respond to emergency calls. Firefighters wear a pager or have an app on their smartphone to alert them they are needed and they go to the fire station closest to their homes to put on their equipment. In addition to the main fire station, at 4353 Wolf Road, Western Springs has a second fire station, at 5501 Grand Ave.
The paid-on-call members are not expected to respond to every call, but they are required to respond to at least 10% of the calls and attend at least two-thirds of the weekly training sessions.
“Most firefighters exceed that easy,” Scott said.
“The village really supports our mission,” Swartz said. “Our department has excellent equipment,” such as an automatic power lift in the ambulance that raises and lowers the gurney into and out of the ambulance with the touch of a button.
It’s smoother for the patient and helps prevent firefighter injuries, Swartz said.
For more information about becoming a paid-on-call firefighter in Western Springs, look at the recruitment section on the village website, wsprings.com, call 708-246-1800, Ext. 174, or send an email to [email protected].