HUMBOLDT — The Humboldt Fire Department is making a public call to fill three volunteer firefighter positions.
Applications are being accepted until Aug. 31. Qualified applicants will then be called in for orientation and physical endurance testing on Sept. 7.
Mike Kwasnica, Humboldt’s fire chief, said joining the department is a great way to give back to the community and be a part of something bigger.
“It's a great group of people to work with, a very tight knit group,” he said, adding there’s members that have been on board for both short periods of time, around six months, and long periods of time, around three decades. “It's a great mix of different people within our community.”
The fire chief also wanted potential applicants to know that being a volunteer firefighter is a big commitment.
“We don't ask for someone that's going to be coming here... and just think of this as a casual thing because even though we are a paid on-call fire department, we ask for complete commitment by every member that's on the department.”
Firefighters are expected to attend every call that they have the ability to go to. They must also attend practices held every second Monday, which takes around three or four hours each.
Applicants must have a valid driver's license and a cell phone that’s on a contract. The fire department will require a criminal background check, a physical from a doctor and a driver’s abstract. The application also asks if the applicant has medical problems and asks what kind of phobias they have.
“This is a very serious business that we're in,” Kwasnica said.
In total, there are 26 volunteer firefighter positions in the fire department, plus a full-time fire chief and assistant fire chief.
Applications forms can be picked up in person at the fire hall or downloaded from humboldt.ca/fire-department.
