Chapel Hill Fire is looking to add more firefighters to its department as several vacancies open up and the community’s need for service grows.
The Chapel Hill Fire Department is currently recruiting six to eight more firefighters to add to its existing 89 employees.
Deputy Fire Chief Stacey Graves said the Town of Chapel Hill has budgeted for 96 positions at the fire department. Graves said he hopes to not only fill current vacancies, but also to keep expanding operations.
On top of the current recruitment process, Chapel Hill Fire has made a request in the town budget to add nine more positions for the next year in order to meet the demand of the community as the town continues to expand.
“Based on standards, we know we need to grow,” Graves said. “A lot of it is due to growth and the density of development and the types of services we provide as far as rescue, fire response and EMS. The development really is creating a situation where we do need more people in order to promptly and successfully respond to the different challenges and different calls in the community.”
Graves said firefighter retention and recruitment are two of the most prominent issues departments across the nation, including in Chapel Hill, are facing.
He said, historically, the fire service started out as strictly volunteer “back in the Ben Franklin era.” While Chapel Hill Fire consists entirely of full career, paid positions, nationally 65 to 70 percent of firefighters still work on a volunteer basis.
New trends, however, show that volunteer firefighter forces are dwindling as many people no longer work in the communities of which they live and free time becomes another rarity in the current career world.
“It used to be they could leave their job, wherever it was – if it was on the farm or in the factory – they could leave the job if there was a fire call,” Graves said. “But now they’re not in the neighborhoods anymore when they’re at work. So, we have to look for different strategies to cover those [positions].”
Graves said some of the recruitment and retention problems stem from public service jobs like firefighters going out of style in the age of social media.
“With the internet world – the different types of jobs out there – young people aren’t being recruited or influenced by things that guide them into careers of public service and I think that’s a big issue,” Graves said.
April Manyon is just one of the Chapel Hill Fire Department’s current 89 firefighters, as well as one of the department’s four women. She’s been involved with Chapel Hill Fire since 2015 and loves the sense of comradery and community.
“It’s not a job to me, it’s a lifestyle,” Manyon said. “You’re here a third of your time. You’re here more than you are at home. You get to know everyone you work with. You know their families. You get to know their habits – their strengths and their weaknesses – and it’s a family-oriented career.”
Firefighter April Manyon in her truck at Fire Station 3 in Chapel Hill.
As Chapel Hill Fire looks to fill its employment gaps, to those interested in becoming a firefighter, Manyon said “everything is worth a try” – and with the right amount of determination, anything is possible.
“I’ve wanted to serve my community in a very unique way ever since I was little and this gave me the opportunity,” Manyon said. “So, I would highly encourage people, if they want a unique job that allows them to do something different every day, to apply.”
To apply for a position with Chapel Hill Fire, click here.
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