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Whitefish hires seven firefighters

| April 8, 2009 1:00 AM

The Daily Inter Lake

The Whitefish Fire Department has hired seven new paramedic/firefighters to enable the department to move forward with round-the-clock service.

Currently, full-time personnel staff the station from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week, with nights being covered by career and volunteer personnel responding from their homes to the fire station when a call is received.

It's estimated that the 24-hour staffing of the station will decrease the night response time by 8 to 10 minutes, City Manager Chuck Stearns said in a press release.

The target date to start the 24-hour shift schedule is June 1, but new firefighters will report for duty on Monday to get their assignments for daytime shifts to become familiar with the department and receive training.

A hiring committee reviewed 65 applications for the new jobs.

Two of the seven finalists chosen are currently volunteer members of the Whitefish Fire Department.

Funding for the positions comes from a $650,280 federal Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant and a tax increase authorized by voters in August 2008.