Officials with the Easton Township Fire Department are trying to establish a Junior Firefighter Program in an attempt to get teens interested in being firefighters.
“Nobody wants to be a firefighter anymore,” said John Grauer, assistant chief with the Easton Township Fire Department.
The Easton Township Fire Department is an all-volunteer department, and Grauer said new volunteers are not joining the department.
He said trouble recruiting new firefighters is a national problem.
Grauer said the Junior Firefighter Program may pique people’s interest in firefighters while they are still teenagers.
The program is being offered to people who 14-17 years of age and live in the Easton Township as well as the neighboring townships of Kickapoo and Alexandria.
If there is a significant response to the program, it may be opened up to people from other areas of Leavenworth County.
There is no fee for participating in the program.