HAYS COUNTY, Texas — After dealing with extremely long wait times, South Hays Fire Department is converting from an all-volunteer to a combination department with paid firefighters and EMTs.
When it comes to saving lives, every second matters.
"A fire doubles every eight minutes," Fire Chief Robert Simonson said.
Simonson has been fighting that battle for decades.
"The size of the fire grows dramatically just by not having the people there," he said.
Growth and staffing have been pressing issues for the South Hays Fire Department.
"Volunteering is becoming almost outdated," Simonson said. "Most people aren't able to work in the same communities that they live in."
His department is the last all-volunteer fire department in Hays County – which is part of why it has 18 open positions.
"We were unable to staff one of our stations for a long time," Simonson said. "We were experiencing extremely long wait times, and we were having to rely on other people to cover our runs in that area."
Simonson said the department had wait times over eight minutes when its goal is three. But now that the department has funding, it's looking to hire paid professional firefighters and EMTs.
"Getting firefighters trained is very expensive," Simonson said. "So we're just like everybody else, pretty much in the state. We're requiring you to already be state-certified as an EMT and a firefighter."
Hiring volunteer firefighters is a national issue. According to a 2020 National Volunteer Fire Council survey, 70% of current and former members had retention problems.
"I just want everybody in the community to know that this is the best thing that could happen, and the best thing – we've managed to do it without a tax increase," Simonson said.
The goal is to fill all positions by August. Soon, the department hopes to meet the growing demand in San Marcos.
The application will be posted on the department's website later this week.