The Courier of Montgomery County reports that as the area population grows, Montgomery County leaders are looking to initiate community college partnerships and in-house training to recruit firefighters.
As residential development spreads across Montgomery County, the population will rise, of course. According to the last census, the county population was almost 700,000. Along with this growth, Executive Director of the county Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, Jason Millsap, says the call volume increases.
Because of the uptick in 911 calls, agencies like Porter’s and fire departments in North Montgomery County have created cadet academies to enlarge their staffs through recruitment. During the five to six month programs to become EMT and firefighter certified, the cadets are paid.
Vaden also said in upcoming years they are “going to have 24 new positions that we’ve got to be able to hire and staff.”
In 2022, Fire Chief Jason Oliphant said the North Montgomery County Fire Department instituted an in-house academy. In January, they’ll be holding their second academy.
