Juneau’s fire department is piloting a paid internship program this year that equips locals with certifications and skills needed to work in the field. It’s a long-term investment in the department’s future after years of understaffing woes.
CCFR plans to hire six interns who will earn emergency medical technician and firefighter certifications over a period of 10 months. The program will qualify them for a permanent position with the department.
Capital City Fire Rescue’s Sam Russell leads the program and said he wants to hire more people with roots in Juneau.
“I can see, in the long term, this being a really good way to keep the community protected by locals, and not have to bring people in from the outside to do things,” he said.
Since the program covers a lot of training and eligibility requirements, Russell said he’s looking for applicants that have the right personality—self-motivation and the ability to get along with others.
“And so we’re looking for those things, as opposed to certifications or past job history or anything in particular,” he said. “We’re really looking for that right attitude, right person.”
Russell said he wants to see more people from all of Juneau’s communities working as firefighters, too. He says Alaska Native and Filipino people are underrepresented in CCFR staff.
“The fire department really should be a representation of the entire community, and we should be fairly diverse,” Russell said. “And I’m hoping the internship program gives people the opportunity to get into the service when they might have thought that they couldn’t.”
He said that for some, taking time away from work and families to get certified isn’t feasible. This internship breaks down that barrier by making the certifications part of the job. Interns will make roughly $3,700 a month
The application period is open until all the spots are filled. But Russell said he plans to start interviewing people on June 27.
The Juneau Career Firefighters union is in negotiations with the City, and it says there are currently extreme levels of mandatory overtime and injured staff. Union representatives said earlier this year that the department needs higher wages in order to be more competitive with other departments who are hiring.
