Over the past 20 years, the number of people applying for and testing to be firefighters in Galesburg has dropped dramatically.
Though the Galesburg Fire Department still has a full staff of 45, every time a position opens up, fewer and fewer people apply.
“It used to be back in the day, you’d hire maybe one or two off the list, and you’d have 200 people testing with you,” said firefighter Haley Stevenson, one of the newer members of the team.
At age 24, she’s been with the department for two years – and she is the city’s first female firefighter.
When Stevenson applied, she was tenth on the list, a ranking that 20 years ago would not have gotten her a job.
The process to become a firefighter is a little more complicated than for most jobs.
Candidates apply, then take a physical agility test. If they pass, they go on to the interview. Then the candidates are ranked according to how well they interviewed and if they have any other helpful qualifications, like military service or EMT certification.
When Fire Chief Randy Hovind first applied in the 1990s, he was ranked number two on the list, but didn’t get hired.
All those on the list are fully qualified and capable of being firefighters, but now the lists are getting shorter, and not all those on the list are serious applicants.
“Previously everyone who came to test wanted the job,” said Captain Joe Brignall, “and now everyone that tests they’re kind of like ‘oh, I’ll just do it’ and when they get called, they’re like ‘nah no thanks.’”
The city used to hold tests every other year, but recently it was changed to every year because not enough people are applying. Three years ago, there were 52 people on the final list of those qualified, the next year, 25, and last year only 15 people qualified to become firefighters.
“The matter is, the cultural shift has changed tremendously in a short amount of time and the fire service is struggling to find people to come test,” said Brignall.
One barrier is the physical agility test, which requires a lot of strength and cardio endurance. Recently, the fire department has started offering practice tests and gives tips on how to pass.
They also started a branch of Fire Explorers, a program for high schoolers and young adults to learn about working in the fire service. But you can’t apply to be a firefighter until the age of 21.
Stevenson said this is sometimes a barrier; young people go off and find a different job in the meantime, and don’t return to the fire service.
Chief Hovind said Galesburg is also competing with nearby areas for applicants; this leads to people applying to more than one department and looking for the best benefits.
“Because that pool has gotten smaller, now they’re looking where are the best benefits, what are you offering me,” Hovind said.
The department spends a lot of time reaching out to the community trying to share those benefits. Firefighters get decent pay, they have a union, they get a pension when they retire, and they have insurance.
“I love this job… I belong to an organization, I get to give back to the community… but also I get retirement benefits, insurance, it’s secure, basically, it’s the best job in the world,” said Brignall.
But there are dangers as well. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that firefighters are 14% more likely to die of cancer than the average citizen.
Despite that, all the Galesburg firefighters seem fully committed to their work and hope more people will join them.
“The job is the hardest and most rewarding thing that I’ve ever done,” said Stevenson.
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