YAKIMA, Wash. - The West Valley Fire Department is hiring three new, full-time firefighters.
A 300-thousand dollar grant from FEMA will help pay for the new firefighters.
Right now, the department is a mostly volunteer force. On weekdays only two firefighters are on-duty, but with the grant they can now bump that number up to four.
Fire officials say having more staff members will mean they can do more when they first get to the scene, instead of waiting for other crews to arrive.
"Right now, with our two person crew, we're very fast to the scene, but if it's a large complicated... Like lets say a rescue.. That's very complicated. It's more than what two people can do," said West Valley Deputy Fire Chief Nathan Craig.
They expect to have all three positions filled by next march. The grant will only cover the cost of the positions for two years. After that, the department would need to find another source for the funding.
