Omaha Fire Department welcomes new recruits during high demand for crews

With the need for firefighters in the state, recruitment is crucial.Thirty-seven new recruits started training at the Omaha Fire Training Academy on Monday. “My name is Tad Badge, been on the job for just over 23 years. Spent most of my time on a truck,” said one firefighter.Unlike Tad, these guys are just starting out in their careers, diving into day one of 13 weeks at the academy”As more people move to Omaha, we have to have more firefighters to protect those citizens,” said Trevor Towey, the president of the Omaha Professional Firefighters Union.Towey said right now the Omaha Fire Department is seeing a high demand for firefighters. “The call volume’s not going down, and the city is not getting any smaller,” Towey said.Towey said it’s no secret the metro is booming, sparking discussions between him, Omaha Mayor John Ewing Jr. and Omaha Fire Chief Kathy Bossman.”I’ve had multiple conversations with them. And they seem to be committed to fully and adequately staffing our fire department, and it starts with this new recruit class,” Towey said.When asked if there’s a specific staffing number that the department is striving for, Towey said: “There’s not an exact science to it.” “Our goal is to make sure we have enough firefighters to staff every fire, every truck and to address the growing call volume,” Towey said.Keeping the community a top priority.”Our citizens need to know that when they call 911, they’re going to get the emergency response that they deserve. And it starts by having enough firefighters,” Towey said.Make sure you can always see the latest news, weather, sports and more from KETV NewsWatch 7 on Google search.NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |