The Levelland Fire Department (LFD) is recruiting volunteer firefighters, providing free in-house training to those interested.
Landon Durham at the LFD said training a rookie class takes about six months. After that period is up, the department usually starts opening applications.
“You can turn in an application and come get one any time of the year,” Durham said. “Sometimes you might have to wait a month before we put you on or some might be five, just depending on what time of year you come.”
According to a Facebook post from LFD, the department hopes to introduce a new team of volunteers immediately after the New Year.
“We hope we get five or six and be able to do a full class, cause it’s a lot easier when you have a group of people to train,” Durham said. “Cause a lot of the stuff we do, one person can’t do it.”
Anyone who is at least 21years-old and lives within a 15minute drive from the fire department under normal driving conditions can apply, the recruitment flyer stated.
Applications can be found at Levelland’s City Hall or the city’s fire department located at 603 5th Street.
Durham said volunteers will do their normal jobs and come into the station Thursday nights to train for the first six months. Alongside this day of training, volunteers will have book work as well.
“Then once you get that done, we have a drill training every other Monday,” Durham said. “And then the volunteers – if we have a call right now – we page out and then they come to the call.”
Durham, who was a volunteer at the station for 12 years before entering his current role, said the training provided, alongside the ability to get certifications, was an amazing aspect of the position.
“I’ve done more training as a volunteer than I probably will do the rest of my career, just because I was available and able to do it then,” Durham said.
Those volunteer training hours are mandated by the State Firefighters’ and Fire Marshals’ Association, Durham said.
After hours and skills training is complete, he said volunteers are signed off to do much more.
LFD Fire Chief Patricia Byars-Faulkner said after their in-house training in Levelland, volunteers can go on and challenge the state test to become state-certified.
“Then they can get a job with any fire department in the state,” Byars-Faulkner said.
There are other ways for people to have a career in the state, such as online courses like Training Division. The chief said the department is big on their volunteers going out to do other training for the professional development experience.
“If they do the outside training like the instructor or officer, those are skills that they can use,” she said. Byars-Faulkner said she had lots of fun doing training in the past. But even after transitioning to her role as Chief, she said there are still things the job has to offer other than the learning period.
“Being involved in the community is a great byproduct of this that you may not get if you’re working a regular 8-to-5 in Lubbock somewhere,” she said, “‘cause you don’t have the time.”
Even if the volunteer program is not a good fit, the chief said there is no harm in trying it.
“A lot of people don’t know what they don’t know. And a lot of people get into this and go, ‘I had no idea’, and they fall in love with it,” Byars-Faulkner said. “So if you don’t fall in love, no harm no foul. But if you do, we have a home for you.”
No experience is needed for those interested in applying. The full informational recruitment flyer can be found on LFD’s Facebook.