Plymouth Fire-Rescue Seeks Part-Time On-Call Firefighters
Amber Hawks is a mother of two and a former full-time personal trainer. A few years ago, her husband heard about Plymouth Fire-Rescue hiring part-time on-call firefighters, and she was intrigued.
“I never thought I would be doing any of this. I never thought I’d be driving one of these trucks,” said Hawks. “I drive a Prius. So go from that to driving an engine is never something I thought I was going to do. Taking a hose in and knocking down a fire? That’s never something I thought I would do, but I love it!”
Hawks is one of many paid, on-call, part-time firefighters. The department is looking for more.
“They need to live within eight minutes of one of our three stations, be 18 (years old), and have a valid driver’s license,” said Assistant Chief Steve Baker. “That’s who we’re looking for.”
Baker said the department puts all new firefighters through rigorous and thorough training, which includes training to be an EMT.
“When your job is to show up on somebody’s worst day and be the solution to whatever their problem is, we need to make sure we’re putting our best foot forward every time the tones go out. Every time 911 is called within our community, we need to make sure we’re putting our best foot forward. Therefore we expect a lot out of our people,” Baker said.
Mike Walstien has been a firefighter, in addition to his full-time job, for many years.
“My day-to-day job is in finance, and when I come here, it’s the exact opposite of finance. It could be really laid back or it could be complete chaos,” said Walstien. “I get to jump on board and it’s a lot of fun. I learn something new every day.”
Walstien even meets one-on-one with anyone, who, like Hawks was just a couple of years ago, interested in becoming a firefighter.
“It’s flexible. I’m not going to say it’s easy. Nothing about fire is easy,” he said. “But it’s fulfilling, which might be different than other things you might be participating in.”
Anyone who wants more information can contact the department at 763-539-5129, firefighterrecruitment@plymouthmn.gov, or by visiting the city’s firefighter recruitment website. There are also two recruitment meetings, both at Fire Station #2, on both June 5 and June 12 at 6:30 p.m.
