With many cities and municipalities experiencing financial crunches, innovative ways to keep costs low while still maintaining the services taxpayers are used to seems to be a priority. One of the highest-cost items for local governments is the cost of keeping a fire company. Firefighter pay sits just below a police force in terms of cost for these governments. Some fire departments, squeezed by budget cuts, are looking to a unique solution: student firefighters.
Fire companies that are stationed near colleges provide students with free housing and hourly pay in exchange for firefighting duties when the need arises. UA Fairbanks runs such a fire department, and when the students graduate or leave, they're replaced with incoming students. Costs are kept low, since students are paid a less-expensive hourly wage than professional firefighters, and because these students also don't accrue pensions, costs are also kept down going into the future.
This idea, of course, does not have to take place near a college campus, but having this be the case helps in the recruitment of younger adults. It's an innovative way to keep troubled fire departments afloat in times of economic strife.
Want to learn more about Brother's Fire and our Iowa fire protection services? Call us today at (800) 607-2767.
Brothers Fire Protection offers commercial fire suppression & alarm system installation & inspection for Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, North & South Dakota.
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