On Monday, February 9th, the Pine Bluff Fire & Emergency Services announced the hiring of five new firefighters. The mix of five men and women brings the total number of firefighters employed by Pine Bluff up to 90. This is only two short of the department being fully staffed. It has been years since the city had full contingent of firefighting personnel.
The department is currently led by Chief Randy Compton, a 30-plus year veteran of Pine Bluff Fire & Emergency Services. He stated the benefit of the new hires goes beyond having more boots on the ground during emergencies. With additional personnel, the department will have less overtime. The funds previously spent to pay that overtime can now be used for other department needs.
The newly hired firefighters still have 15 weeks of training ahead of them that includes EMT training, rookie training, and driver operation training before they are able to work regular shifts alongside their new teammates.
The Pine Bluff Fire & Emergency Services has seven fire stations spread throughout Pine Bluff. The benefit of multiple fire stations is it allows the department to respond quickly to emergencies regardless of the location and, if there are trains, accidents, or other impediments that would prevent one station from reporting to the scene of a fire or other emergency, there is another station that would be able to access the situation from another location.
In addition to fighting fires, members of the Pine Bluff Fire and Emergency Services team also engage in search and rescue operations and emergency medical and disaster preparedness.
If anyone is interested in applying for the remaining two positions, visit pineblufffire.com.
