“The role of a paid on-call firefighter is incredibly demanding,” said Lino Lakes Public Safety Director John Swenson. “These are individuals who already have full time occupations, careers in other fields. When you look at the training demands, the calls that are sent sometimes at 3 in the morning, it places a lot of demand on the firefighter and their families.”
Swenson says it’s important to make the job as attractive as possible, and compensation is part of that. He says another consideration is the fire pension. Swenson says the pay will be reviewed more often in the future.
“We are committed to reviewing this every two years and implementing changes following that research.”
Lino Lakes is authorized for 40 paid on-call firefighters. Currently there are 22 on staff. Swenson says that’s indicative of what other departments are seeing as well.
He adds another major reason people take the job has little to do with compensation. He says many do it out of a desire to serve their local community.
