By Elizabeth Campbell
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas
JOSHUA, Texas — During the past two years, volunteer firefighters have felt the strain of increasing calls as the area continues to grow.
Joshua is considering plans to create a paid fire department because of high call volume and the strain placed on volunteers who can’t always get to the scene of an emergency, said Mike Peacock, the city’s emergency management coordinator.
The city has seen a 30 percent increase in the number of calls since 2007, he said.
“For a volunteer department of 30 people, it’s stretching pretty thin,” Peacock said. “Sometimes, we’ve missed calls, and it’s taxing for volunteers.”
Joshua hired an Oregon firm, Emergency Services Consulting, to study the needs of the Fire Department and to help the city with the transition to a paid department. The City Council allocated $20,000 for the study, Peacock said.
One of the recommendations is to build a new fire station, as the current building has no facilities for firefighters to stay overnight, and there isn’t room for training, according to Peacock.
Currently, Joshua funds the volunteer fire department from the city’s budget.
The 2008-09 Fire Department budget is $269,893.
The city will probably begin the transition by paying the fire chief beginning in 2010 and then plans to build the new fire station.
Peacock said the city will gradually shift from all volunteers to a combined department with both volunteer and paid firefighters.
Copyright 2009 Fort Worth Star-Telegram