ELLISTON, Va. – Montgomery County is hiring, for the first time ever, career firefighters to man their station in Elliston.
We talked to officials with Montgomery County Fire and EMS and they said having volunteers is essential for many departments, but with the demands of the world, having volunteers available throughout the day can be difficult, leading to slower response times.
“When you tell someone, we need you to commit 100 hours to this every month, they just don’t have the time to do it,” said Michael Geary, director of Fire and EMS for Montgomery County. “It is nothing against them it’s just there is not enough time in the day anymore to make the commitment to do these types of jobs.”
They tell us they plan on hiring almost 20 people for the department.
They also tell us this will not affect their current volunteers, this will add to the team for faster responses.