Columbus Fire and Rescue’s new chief look to lower minimum age for future applicants
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – It’s a challenge for fire departments statewide to find people who want to take on the job of firefighting.
Columbus Fire and Rescue’s new chief, Charles Yarbrough, thinks he may have one tactic that can help, and that is to lower the minimum age for the job.
In Columbus, applicants currently have to be 21-years-old.
Yarbrough would like to drop that to 18.
It gives the city a wider pool to draw from, and with the state requiring 30 years on the job before employees can retire, it could mean more firefighters would make it to that milestone.
Yarbrough also has a plan for creating a pipeline for recruits.
“But, it gives us an opportunity to reach them where they’re at. This wouldn’t just be coming right out of high school at 18. We’ll be trying to get into the school system and create a Fire Explorer program, similar to what we did in Starkville. And, from there, we can actually work with them, and by the time they turn 18, hire them,” said Yarbrough.
Yarbrough said they had some success when they implemented the program while he was chief in Starkville.
