The era the Paragould Fire Department has waited for is finally here. For the first time, the fire department is fully staffed. The department added 12 firefighters, and now they’ve finally finished training and have more boots on the ground. Fire Marshal Brian Carter said the extra hands have made a difference to their fire response. “Whenever we show up on scene, our guys get out of the truck. They get tools, they get everything that they need, and they can instantly go in and make an impact on a fire,” he said.
The firefighters were hired after voters in Paragould passed a public safety tax in 2024. Carter said the extra manpower hasn’t just made a difference on a call. “This has had a huge effect. It’s had an effect on morale, burnout,” he said. Carter said a fire can double in size in a minute, meaning every second counts. He said response time was longer when they weren’t fully staffed. “We still had to page off-duty personnel, and they had to get out of bed, drive to the scene. It’s just made it a lot faster,” he said. Carter said the impact isn’t just at the department or the people making calls; he said everyone living in Paragould benefits. “We have low ISO ratings, so it keeps your home insurance lower. If someone is trapped in a fire, we have more manpower on scene, we can make it safer for them and us,” he said. Carter said that as the city grows, the public safety tax could help add more firefighters in the future. The public safety tax also helped add 25 more police officers in Paragould.
