Batesville Fire and Rescue is working to recruit more volunteer firefighters, a need that has prompted high school students to participate in a work-based learning program. The goal of the initiative is to address the local fire department’s ongoing struggle with recruitment and retention, with roughly 80% of the Batesville Fire and Rescue team consists of volunteers.
The Batesville Fire Department consists of full-time, part-time and paid on-call staff. The department serves multiple municipalities, including multiple parts of Ripley County and Franklin County.
"There's only enough firefighters to cover that 150 square miles, like today we only had five full-timers on shift," said Joel Justice, Batesville firefighter and EMT. "Half of the crew that came in those are volunteers, so if we didn't have those volunteers today, we would be short-staffed."
Batesville Fire and Rescue has partnered with Milan High School, Oldenburg Academy and Batesville High School to train students about all aspects of the fire service.
Hear about the fire department's initiative here:
Irene Boyd is a senior at Milan High School. She comes to the department four days a week, hoping to be a potential solution to tackling the staffing shortage.
"Sometimes it can be EMS, Firefighting, going through work rescue but we'll normally get straight into that," said Boyd. "I'll move the cot, carry the bags, so while I can't do any of the in-depth EMT stuff, I try my best to be a helpful part of the team if I can.
Boyd comes to Batesville Fire and Rescue four times a week during part of the school day. She says she wants to encourage more women and younger adults to consider the field. After getting her ETM basics, she wants to join Batesville part-time and work her way up to becoming a paramedic.
"I pay close attention to how they talk to patients and take IVs," said Boyd. "We should have more people; to show people like me, females, and younger people, I suffer from severe anxiety, you can overcome stuff like that".
According to Batesville Fire and Rescue, there are more than 800 volunteer and rescue departments in the state. Students have to be at least a junior in High School to join a work-based learning program. A second apprentice from Oldenburg Academy will begin the program this month.
"Drop all your fears and run into it like crazy because even if it doesn't turn out to be the thing that you want, you got the experience to help others," said Boyd.
