By Steve Lord
The Beacon-News
AURORA, Ill. — Aurora Fire Department officials said they are looking to hire more paramedics as quickly as possible.
To do that, fire Chief Gary Krienitz said he wants the city to change the language in its ordinance regarding the qualifications of safety personnel. He would like it to read that anyone looking to take the test required to be on the hiring list for the Fire Department already have paramedic training.
“I definitely need to hit the ground running with paramedics next year,” Krienitz told aldermen at the City Council Committee of the Whole meeting. “There is a shortage right now. The demand is incredible.”
Not only does Krienitz need more firefighters with paramedic training for current staffing needs, the department next year is going to add an ambulance, which will have to be staffed.
The current hiring list has about 50 to 60 people on it, about 70 percent of which do have paramedic training. But the list expires in November, at which time the city needs to develop a new list.
Krienitz said the city is using a new testing service, which means the pool to choose from “should be dramatically increased.” He estimated that after the new testing, Aurora would have about 200 people on the hiring list. Krienitz wants people to already have paramedic training to be able to get on that new list.
Unlike some departments, Aurora does not have separate firefighters and paramedics. It tries to have all firefighter-paramedics. They are all rotated on assignments between being a firefighter and working as a paramedic on an ambulance, Krienitz said.
Hiring people who already have paramedic training saves the city time and money, said Krienitz and Alisia Lewis, the city’s director of human resources. As it is, hiring a new firefighter-paramedic is a two-year process.
More time is lost if the city hires someone, then immediately takes that person out of service to take paramedic training. That training also costs the city about $40,000 a person, Lewis said.
The City Council is set to vote on amending its ordinance to require paramedic training at its Monday meeting.
Copyright 2016 The Beacon-News