Joplin Fire Department to graduate new firefighters

(From the Joplin Fire Department)

Firefighting is a demanding career that calls for unwavering courage, fast-thinking, and experience. All too often, it is also strictly volunteer – according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, only 12% of firefighters across the state of Missouri are full-time, paid professionals.

But thanks to a carefully curated educational curriculum and strong career benefits, those dreaming of becoming a professional firefighter are being drawn more often to the City of Joplin, where they are equipped with diverse skills to save lives when the stakes are high. 

On Thursday, July 23, the Joplin Fire Department will celebrate its most recent class of academy graduates. These cadets have trained for more than six months to thoroughly understand and perform the various duties required of a Joplin firefighter. The ceremony will begin at 3 p.m. at the Public Safety Center, 5102 N. Swede Lane, Joplin.

The department’s robust training curriculum was developed internally to ensure incoming firefighters would be proficient in a variety of scenarios ranging from building fires to vehicle accidents. 

Firefighters-in-training are on staff with the City of Joplin and are paid full-time wages throughout the 24-week curriculum, which is made possible due to the department’s various educational accreditations. The comprehensive training includes: 

Eight weeks of EMT training(cadets must pass the national EMT exam)

10 weeks of Fire I training (entry-level) and Fire II training (command and control), as well as Hazardous Materials Certification Training (cadets must pass the certification)

Six weeks of Finishing School (developed by the departmentand designed to instill mastery level skills)

After finishing this curriculum, firefighters graduate from the academy and are assigned to one of the City’s seven fire stations.

“The training is extensive because we want them to be ready for anything,” said Dustin Lunow, assistant fire chief. “It has become more of the standard for fire training to be taught in-house. We drill extensively to get them comfortable being uncomfortable. We want them to successfully mitigate whatever they are against.”

Next week, 11 members – a historically large class of cadets – will graduate from the Joplin Fire Academy with a noteworthy pass rate of 100% on their certifications and exams. (The national pass rate for EMT certification is 73%.) They will move into active firefighting positions within the 110-member JFD staff. To keep up with retirementsand job vacancies, Lunow said the department operates an ongoing cycle of new hires and academies. 

 

Lunow said the number of applicants for firefighting positions has grown exponentially. In the past, the leadership team may have hired from only a handful of applicants. Currently, he has a list of more than 112 applications pending.

“We expect firefighters to perform in multiple roles simultaneously,” Lunow said. “We have worked to make the training more streamlined and we routinely ask cadets for feedback. It has made the program stronger and our firefighters more prepared.”

With even more advanced trainings coming into place for longtime Joplin firefighters, Fire Chief Gerald Ezell says every round of graduates instills confidence that the department has hired experts Joplin residents can count on when the most frightening scenarios arise.

“We have excellent partnerships with other agencies and our training program prepares our firefighters for everything they might encounter in an emergency,” Ezell said. “The Joplin community is in good hands.”

For more information about the Joplin Fire Academy or applying for a position with the Joplin Fire Department, contact Joplin Fire Recruiting at 417-624-0820 ext. 1333 or FireRecruiting@joplinmo.org.