HORSEHEADS, N.Y. (WENY) -- For the first time in department history, the Horseheads Fire Department has created a paid position.  With the increasing number of calls the department is facing everyday, the need for a paid driver has become more pressing.

The Horseheads Fire Department is volunteer based.  They responded to 820 calls in 2023, a record breaking year.  As of May 7th, there have been 279 calls in 2024.  At that pace, the department is set to break another record.

"With the increasing demand calls, the increasing responsibilities of the firefighters, and we don't have as many volunteers coming out to help us anymore, so we need this the paid driver.  We've been asking the village for several years now. They afforded us the opportunity to put the paid driver on from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., 10 hours a day," said First Assistant Chief Ryan Wheeler.

Most of the volunteers at the department have day jobs, so the new part time position will help fill those daytime gaps that volunteers aren't always able to.  Assistant Chief Wheeler says the trucks go out everyday, whether its on EMS, fire, emergency, or natural disaster calls.  Driving a 20,000 pound fire truck takes a lot of skill, and this job requires three years of experience, hazmat, and EMT certification.

"It's like a three-step process. I mean, you're a firefighter, you're a driver and then you become an officer. So it's almost the middle of the road of becoming a firefighter. We just don't want somebody's just join the fire department to drive the truck. As you know, it's a heavy truck, it weighs over 20,000 pounds with the water on it," added Assistant Chief Wheeler.

The Horseheads Fire Department with the support of the Village Board of Trustees and Mangers Office created this position. Mayor Kevin Adams says this job will help the department as a whole.

"Paid drivers have been [around for] a long time in this area, and what we found is that, like most other departments, our volunteers are doing a heroic, herculean effort in calling out. We had over 800 calls last year. We need to help them with the response, and [help] the volunteers," said Mayor Adams.

According to the fire department, the pay is $18/hour, and NYS retirement is available.  The hours are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday - Sunday, with no more than 20 hours per week.  Contact Assistant Chief Ricky Skebey at [email protected] or Assistant Chief Ryan Wheeler at [email protected] to apply.

The full post for the position can be found here.