East Texas fire departments address recruitment and retention - KYTX CBS 19 Tyler Longview News Weather Sports

East Texas fire departments address recruitment and retention

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COFFEE CITY (KYTX) - Fire departments across East Texas are learning more about recruiting firefighters and keeping them around longer.

A class held Saturday at the Coffee City Volunteer Fire Department brought together fire departments from across East Texas. They learned about how to recruit new members, but also retain those members once they're in the departments.

Executive Director of the Texas Fireman's and Fire Marshal's Association, Chris Barron, says there is a huge need for firefighters in the state.

"We saw last year with the wildfires being historic across the state, that there was always a need for firefighters and always a need for emergency responders. So we're hoping that with this class we do today that we'll help these fire departments out on how to think about things differently on how to attract new membership but also keep them in there," Barron said.

He says 78 percent of the fire service in the state of Texas is made up of volunteer fire departments.

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