POLK COUNTY, Fla. — Polk County Fire Rescue (PCFR) is making an effort to hire much-needed recruits by offering new benefits and perks.
Friday, the department announced it's now offering a $10,000 sign-on bonus for qualified applicants.
The offer extends to "single-cert" paramedics and firefighter/paramedics and includes other incentives, such as:
- Firefighters/paramedics from a “career” fire department (lateral transfers) with at least two years of experience are not required to complete a Candidate Physical Ability Test (CPAT).
- Every year of experience equates to one step in advancement up to Step 5.
- Additional pay steps will also be provided to:
- U.S. military veterans who have been honorably discharged
- Applicants with a two or four-year college degree
- Special Ops “Technicians” (Collapse, HazMat, Trench, and VMR)
To Jon Hall, the vice president of Polk County Professional Firefighters (IAFF Local 3531), the new perks are great news because the department has been struggling with staffing for years.
“Approximately the last decade has been very challenging for Polk County Fire Rescue," Hall said.
While Polk County Fire Rescue is one of the busiest fire departments in the state — in one of the state’s fastest-growing counties — Hall says lower pay has made it difficult, at times, to lure new recruits.
“If somebody dials 911, they expect a fire truck or an ambulance to show up within a reasonable amount of time," Hall said. "If our staffing continues to struggle, couple that with the growth in the county, that’s just not going to happen. It’s not going to be able to happen.”
Hall applauds the new sign-on bonuses and the higher pay agreed upon last month in a two-year collective bargaining agreement.
“Our pay stacks up well, now, with our neighbors," he said.
To Hall, the lengthy fight for better pay and less mandatory overtime is not over, but it is finally paying off.
“I tell the people of Polk County — the citizens and visitors — to kind of keep an eye on the situation, but we are definitely moving in the positive direction that we need to be," he said.
As for the new sign-on bonuses, Polk County said applicants must be nationally registered or have completed their State of Florida equivalency certification requirements, certified in Florida as a paramedic, and firefighter/paramedics must possess a Florida Firefighter Bureau of Fire Standards Certificate of Compliance to qualify for the bonus.
Those interested in applying for a position should contact Recruiter Betzi LaCounte at BetziLaCounte@polk-county.net or(863) 519-7350.
