There’s a lot of turnover in a fire department, just ask any one of the fire chiefs in Catawba County.  Someone is always retiring or leaving for another department where they can make more money.

Newton Fire Department is getting ready to begin recruiting again within the next month.  Newton Chief Kevin Yoder said they pooled applicants in November and had about eight people who were on stand-by to fill positions as they became available.

“We have exhausted that pool now,” Yoder said.  “We were hoping that would last six months.”

It’s been four months since the pooling ended at the end of November and the department is already down to two applicants who have successfully completed the written exam and agility test that are required to be considered, he said.

“I’m down to nine reserves and of those two can retire,” Yoder said.

Now they are preparing to start over with another advertising campaign that they hope will bring in more people.  Primarily, Yoder said they are looking for applicants who are already certified firefighters that would be able to fill the void faster.

Maiden Volunteer Fire Department will have half of its 35 volunteer firefighters eligible for retirement within the next two years, Maiden Chief Danny Hipps said.  Of the 35 men on the roster, he said more than half of them are level 2 firefighters  who have completed extensive education and training.  Despite being called “volunteers” it is considered a career and the men can leave with benefits after 20 years of service. Hipps said three have already said this will probably be their last year with the department.

Meanwhile Newton Fire Department has two reserve firefighters and one full-time firefighter who are eligible to retire already.

Conover Volunteer Fire Department has five firefighters, of 57 on the roster, who could retire any time and another two that have 18 years of service in.  Just down the road, Claremont Volunteer Fire Department has eight volunteers who are eligible to retire of its 28 firefighters.

“It’s a very competitive field,” Yoder said.

Yoder said it takes at least two years for a firefighter to become certified to fight fires, which is why departments prefer to add firefighters who have already received them.  

That’s one of the reasons so many firefighters serve at multiple departments, Yoder said. More than 95 percent of the Newton Fire Department’s 47-man roster is staff with other local departments who could serve as volunteers or part-time at any number of stations.

In Newton, firefighters must have achieved at least level 1 certification and emergency medical technician training before they can go on fire calls, Yoder said.

“We can put (certified firefighters) on a truck a whole lot faster,” Yoder said.

The other issue comes down to department budgets, which determine how much the full-time, part-time, and reserve (volunteer) firefighters can be paid.

In Newton full-time level 1 firefighters with EMT training start at $24,773 per year.  Yoder said he lost one firefighter recently when he left to take a job at a fire department on the coast.

All totaled, Newton loses about 10-20 percent, or 5-10 people each year to retirement or other jobs.

“We do feel like we’re understaffed,” he said.

Yoder said bigger departments, such as those in Charlotte, are able to pay their firefighters more money, which becomes a big draw for them.

“When you’re paying people to do the most dangerous job in the world, you have to come up with the money to compete (so you can hold on to your firefighters),” Yoder said.

In order for a person, to be physically involved in fighting a fire, they must obtain some basic credentials first.  Level 1 is the basic certification level of training and competency to perform firefighting duties in a hot zone and level 2 is required for someone to work on a house or building fire.

To become a level 1 firefighter, a person must complete 19 classes and more than 213 hours in class and take another 14 classes and 150 additional hours to become a level 2 firefighter.  Level 1 courses include instruction in safety, communication, ropes and ladders, salvage and basic introduction.  Level 2 goes further into lessons in building construction, foam fire streams and fire prevention.