Manawa chief looking for volunteers
By Holly Neumann
With only 18 fire firefighters left on the Manawa Rural Fire Department staff, Chief Rob Rosenau said the department needs help.
“This is not just a Manawa issue,” he said. “This is an issue nationwide with just about every fire department and ambulance service.”
Rosenau would like to see his department have 30 or more members.
“With everyone’s full-time jobs and families, it’s nice to have others available to help fill the needs when a call comes in,” he said.
The deparatment has seen a decline in volunteers due to the amount of training that one must go through to start and then to advance. He also believes others do not want to give back to their community as in years past.
A staff shortage means response times will be longer, according to Rosenau.
“We are averaging 8.59 minutes for MRFD to be on scene from time of page,” he said. “If there is not a department in the community, this would likely be higher, as the responding department will be further away.”
Not only could this cost lives, it would also have a financial impact on the city for a contracted department, he said.
Anyone interested in joining the department can reach out on its Facebook page, send an email to [email protected], call the station at 920-596-2593 or reach out to a current member for details.
“Each person will need to go through Firefighter 1 training, which is about 120 hours of class time, September to May,” Rosenau said.
No training is needed to apply, but a commitment to go to school and get the training is.
“Most of the classes are funded through the state as well as MRFD,” Rosenau said. “We like to have new members come in before class starts to make sure they like/want to do firefighting.”
Applicants will need to pass a background check and have a good record.