The Poteau Fire Department has officially begun the process of transitioning to a full-time department, following approval from the Poteau City Council.
The department has long relied on a mix of paid-on-call and volunteer firefighters, but Poteau Fire Chief John Ford says thatโs becoming harder to sustain.
โThere’s been a transition in the workforce, it’s become more difficult for employers to allow people to leave work. So it’s become a little bit more difficult to recruit and retain employees,โ Ford said.
He said right now they have 17 people who are paid-on-call, meaning they receive a salary, they are required to live in city limits, and their employer lets them leave work to respond to calls. They respond to 70% of calls. They also have volunteers, who can either live in city limits or work in city limits. They respond to 50% of calls.
Ford says the plan is to make Station 1 a full-time firehouse by January 2027. The other 2 stations in the city will stay a mix of paid-on-call and volunteer firefighters.
“Our goal is 12, we’ll do three shifts of four firefighters and do 48 96 schedule. We’ll also maintain what we currently have with roughly about 24 to 25,” said Ford.
Along with the transition, the department will begin taking medical calls in coordination with LeFlore County EMS. “We’re estimating with Leflore County EMS that we’ll run about 2,000 medical calls a year, and we currently run about 200 fire and rescue, so it’d be about 2,200 calls,” Ford said.
Before the department can make the switch, theyโll need to expand Station 1 to add living quarters. “We’ll also have to outfit one of the trucks to respond for medical calls, and then start working with our personnel who are going to be interested in the full-time position to get the necessary training,” Ford said.
Ford says the change will bring faster response times, but will also allow firefighters to take on more community engagement and safety efforts.
“We’ll be able to do more outreach with schools, nursing home facilities, you know, things like that, your high risk areas, also being able to work on hydrant maintenance,” he said.
As for what this could mean for homeowners, the shift is expected to put the city in a class 3 insurance rating โ which could lower rates for residents.
“It’s going to be a big change for us, but we’ve got a close knit group of guys, and I think that this will make us even closer,” Ford said. “I think that what we’re going to be able to do for the community, we’re pretty excited about it.”
To help fund the transition, Ford said the department plans to apply for SAFER Grants, which is federal funding designed to help fire departments increase or maintain the number of trained, front-line firefighters available in their communities.
