LAKEPORT, Calif. – Three new Lakeport Fire Protection District firefighters took their oath of office and had their badges pinned on during a Tuesday evening ceremony.
Jodi Snider, Jordan Mills and Brandon Morin were sworn in by Linda Buckner, secretary of the fire district board of directors, at the beginning of the board's meeting at the main station.
After taking their oaths, each of the young firefighters invited up their fathers, who pinned on their badges. Each then shook hands with Chief Doug Hutchison.
The three new firefighters will be full-time limited term staff, which Hutchison explained means they will serve an initial term of 18 months and then can sign up again to continue.
He said they will receive full-time pay and some – but not all – of the district's benefits.
They will be permanently assigned to a four-person shift, which Hutchison said helps build cohesiveness.
Hutchison said his three new staffers recently completed their training. That included work at South Lake County Fire's training facility and a two-week orientation in the district's operations and guidelines.
He said Mills and Morin previously had worked for Lakeport Fire as volunteers, and Snider had been a volunteer and reserve firefighter with Kelseyville Fire.
Hutchison said the addition of Mills, Morin and Snider brings the district up to full staff. Altogether, the district has 12 full-time firefighters plus Hutchison, and 12 volunteers.
“We're stable at this point,” he said of the district's staffing.
Each shift is staffed by four people, Hutchison explained. However, over the last few years, he said the district has been trying to fill the fourth position on every shift on a daily basis due to being short-staffed.
Add to that, the challenges of increasing call volumes. “We've been increasing steadily,” said Hutchison, noting an annual 5- to 10-percent call increase, particularly with regard to medical aids.
Hutchison said Lakeport Fire recently applied for a four-year grant that would help it implement a reserve program like that in place at Kelseyville Fire.
He said the grant funding would raise the staffing by 12 reserves, increasing the per-shift personnel from four people to six, allow them to hire on reserves full-time when positions open, plus pay for personal protective equipment, training costs and mandatory pre-employment physicals for 12 individuals.
That grant was submitted in March, with Hutchison noting it will be at least three months before they hear if they're successful.
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